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Hi!
Forced fronts: looking good! Because she is small-ish, feel free to bend over so your cue hand is down at her nose-level. This helps the dogs focus on it in the higher arousal of trial settings. It is a little more challenging for the stay (she will want to release as you lower your hand to position) so yo can isolate that without a jump to be able to reward the stay.
And yes, keep rewarding the stay like you did – she might have been anticipating that the position was the release? So you can get into position, praise then either release or throw the reward back.
Yes, on the first sequence, I was handling 3 as a backside – more connection will help her see it (keeping your arm back and looking at her) as well as the verbal. You were looking forward which caused your shoulders to turn to the front side, so she came into the front side.The throwback at 1:22 was harder – you can look at the landing spot there as you throw back to the jump – looking at her was too much of a turn cue for such a responsive dog đ She didnât go into the tunnel there –
You stopped moving, turned and reached for reward as she was approaching the tunnel, so she had a question about going into it – she sees everything LOL! Much better at 2:00 when you kept moving with better connection.She is definitely doing better about fixes! But keep rewarding, keep rewarding, keep rewarding. Because of the pandemic, I have watched probably quadruple the number of handling videos in the past 18 months than I normally would have, and there are two definites in my dogs and student dogs:
– 99% of on course errors are handling errors
– If we donât reward, the dogs deflate.
So even though she stuck with you – just reward the errors then reset, and donât mark them. An example is when she didnât take the jump on the rear cross at 2:54 – it was a handling error (your footwork pushed her off the line) and she got marked and no reward. There was a quick reset and reward, but you can reward, reset and reward again (she wonât be sad about that LOL!)
Then at 3:10 she got it but she saved you a bit – rather than stop to ask if she is OK, cheer and reward – it will be a more valuable use of reinforcement.
Building up resilience to handling errors is something that we all obsess on (because we canât be perfect handlers :)) and the key is tons of reinforcement paired into the handling errors. So if I end up rewarding something in the 1% (or more Iike the .1% haha) when the dog might have been wrong? No big deal đ But if I withhold reinforcement when I have created the error, even if I donât know why/how it happened? Then frustration builds in and we lose the dog in the moments where resilience matters most: in the trial ring when there is no primary reinforcement immediately available.>> And since that obstacle was after a new hard skill I didnât ever really stop her after missing the backside. Also I was confused as to if I was handling it well at all so I kinda didnât expect her to do>>
Totally agree with this approach! You were like âwell, that was me, so letâs just keep goingâ and she was happy! When you handled it correctly for the backside, she was good!
To be honest, before the pandemic I would have encouraged more of the quick fixes before the reinforcement, but watching all of this video in the last 20 months has changed my mindset a lot, it is like doing a research project! Even those quick fix moments can be frustrating for the dog (because they were correct in the first place) so keep going like you did there, or reward then fix then reward.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Nice job with the various options here!!! Looking at the different runs:You had a dance moment of rotating towards her then opening up to the post turn at 2 at :10 so she had a question there. You can connect on the BC between 3-4 sooner, turn your head as soon as you think she will go into the tunnel – that will tighten that line from 3-4 more.
You did a spin on 2 at :33 and she went somewhere LOL! I think it was a distraction moment at 2?
The BC on landing side of 4 at :50 was great! LOVED this!Wrapping to the inside (right turn) at 1:00 was really nice, she was tight and fast and you were connected!!! You did a FC on the landing side of 4 at 1:09 – it took you longer to get off her line (because FC rotations take longer than blinds) and so she had to wait for you. I like the blind there better for sure.
Last rep – the Spin on 2 at 1:20 slows her down – she is really responsive so she might not need such a powerful turn cue. I think a send-and go post turn would be both a great turn and fastest for her there if you wanted to try that! It is easier for you as well, so it would be great if she didnât need the spin đ You can try leading out less and moving into the spin, so there is more acceleration into it but that might be a lot of work for a result that is not as good as the send-and-go đ
And you ended with a lovely BC on landing of 4 at 1:26 – that definitely is an effective tool for her, she was tight and fast. Yay!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
I think concentrating on the important verbals and not all the verbals worked well – the reality is that we donât need a verbal for every single jump but those important verbals (like the backside verbals) are key!Walk through went really well –
Good job getting the plan fast and installing the connections fast!
My only handling suggestion is a blind after the last backside instead of a FC 9-10 because it turns your feet to the next line sooner and also gets you off his line sooner.
And a walk through suggestion: get to the fast moving walk through sooner so you can go fast several times before the walk through is over. Handling those connections (the hardest part of this sequence) are easy when you are moving slowly but much harder at a run especially 5-6-7-8-9 section.On the run –
To keep him happy and listening to his feedback, you can totally reward and start over on #1, he was lined up facing past 1 so it was a legit bit of feedback from him when he ran past 1 (he would have had to move away to take it). Young dogs are pretty literal. Lining up to be facing #1 goes on the list of things to plan in the walk through! And you can separately teach him to find #1 even if the line up is not perfect – that is a skill that improves as the dogs get more experienced.
When you did get him going, the run went well – the connections go shaky 7-8-9 because you had to run fast and connect – he had a little question 8-9 but got it. When you ran it the 2nd time, your connections were great on that whole 6-7-8-9 section (because you had already rehearsed it at speed). So if you rehearse it at speed during the walk through, youâll nail it on the first run đHe did have to wait a little for you to get off his line on the FC 9-10 on both runs – he just added a couple of small strides to wait for you to move off the line – as he was jumping, you were still in the landing spot. FC Rotation takes longer than blinds, so this would be fun to try with a blind and see how he does!
Great job here! And for the trial coming up… try to get the running with connection in during the walk through! You might need to squeeze past people or find parts of the course thatâs are not densely populated, but it is totally worthwhile đ
Tracy
Hi!
A couple of ideas for you:
On one run, do your outside the ring routine as usual then go into the ring a little later so you can get right to the line, see what he offers for a line up, accept it then lead out. If he sits at your side, cool, go with that (donât ask for something different Which effectively tells him he was incorrect).
And on the runs: emphasize your connections and trust him more on the lines. If he runs past a jump, connect more but keep going. Go for speeeeeeed and donât fix any oopsies. If being in the trial ring is as fun as the lines you got from the weaves to the end on the JWW run, then you will find that he gets much more relaxed in the whole environment. If there are fixes or struggles, he will be tense and we donât want that. So, connect, call, run, trust, go fast fast fast, no fixing – no worries about the Q because Qs will not be a problem for him, it is more about looking at the long term of getting being in the ring to be the MOST fun đTracy
Hi!
I will get onto the laptop this afternoon to see if I can fix the order, but for now letâs just keep the replies going here and see if we can get it back in order LOL!!I am glad you like this exercise – it is a complete game changer for me! It is a pain in the butt when it is hot and it is a bit exhausting… but totally worth it because we learn how to run the dogs clean and fast đ
This video is marked unavailable, though – can you reset it to unlisted? Looking forward to seeing it!
TracyYes, the lockdowns have really thrown everything off in terms of timelines. It is nothing we can control, so if it takes longer to get the youngsters into the ring, then that is what it takes. 2 of my youngsters are well past the age that any of my other agility dogs have started their careers… but covid. So for now I am working on getting them comfortable in the environments, even if it means just going to the park like you mentioned. I figure Hot Sauce can be trialing in September, Contraband can start doing some ânot for competitionâ in September (he will be 2 in October) and Elektra will start in February or March when she is almost 2. As my Flyball instructor reminds me âIt takes as long as it takesâ and getting the dogs comfort in the environment is the most important thing.
Good morning!
This went really well! You executed it pretty much as you walked it, And that is exactly what we want, with one notable difference:
On the walk through at 3-4, you connected but kept moving.
On the run at 3-4, you connected and stopped moving: so she head checked. Staying in motion there will smooth it out.Everything else looked really good! No worries about the tick caused by running into the trees LOL!
One suggestion… I think you might be using too much outside arm (this might be what you meant by saying there was perhaps too much connection at :32, I agree with that) – I donât think you need it for connection or for the easier backside pushes like at 3. You can try running with less opposite arm – I mention it because the opposite arm slows yo down and causes you to lean back (like at :32) – if you can connect and stay in motion, youâll have better running lines overall!Great job here! Stay cool!!!
TracyGood morning!
Awwww good Border Collie in the shade! 80 degrees is not too terrible but he is smart to keep himself cool!Bummer about the video of the walk through and run! I am particularly interested in the turn on the tunnel to the weave entry. Hmmmmmmm!
And who are the judges that donât look at the DW as much? I might need the list when the youngsters start trialing LOL!
T
Hi! I re-watched that 4-5 section in super slow motion: I think when he sees you facing him for the FC when he exited the #3 tunnel, even for that heartbeat, that sits him back a bit (even though you kept moving through it) and he lifts his head. So he was thinking about it the handling and added a stride on the distance between jumps, rather than looking at the line the whole time. I think it would be fun to see the difference with a BC there. He does not go to any unexpected places anymore đ plus the blinds get you to better places so it is worth a try!
Tracy
I think initially the toy was more about retrieving for a cookie but then maybe he realized there were cookies in it or it was fun to tug – this can happen as state of arousal changes and he was then tugging like a wild man in a good way (you turned up his volume dial LOL!)
SOmething to experiment with in upcoming trials at the start line is to see if he is more of an all-business type of guy pro he needs LOTS of tricks – I think for now he does best when you get him to leap up, that is such a great trick!
He definitely had trouble with the âremote rewardâ where he had to walk away from it to the start line – on the first rep, he was really cautious in his movement. You had the toy in your hand, so try to leave th toy behind you outside the ring too. Note how hard it was at the end – he had to take himself for a run to the trees! I think the remote reward is something to be practiced regularly because it is the hardest thing. You can always have a chair outside your sequence. And maybe once out of every 4 or 5 runs, you let him see you leave all the stuff on the chair and then run the course and then cue him to go with you to the chair. You donât have to (or want to) do this ALL the time, but if you can make a reward chair and remote reward a predictable part of the routine, I think it will really help at trials where you have to leave stuff outside the ring on all runs except NFC runs.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Hooray for the success of the pattern game! It is a great life skill and will also transfer to sport đ I donât think he wanted to take his eyes off of you at all LOL! How did it go after the hike?
Extra double gold star when Tenzing barked at the pedestrian and Nuptse looked *but then was able to return his engagement to you!!!* YES! Being on leash helped, but he also never even went to the end of the leash – super!
The next steps would be to do more outside the trial ring. And did you get a change to look at the variations I posted in Package 5? The variations allow for small spaces, like when you are waiting on line to go in the ring đ
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>> I really thought you could see better if I gave carrie the camera. My apologies in advance for the Blair witch project like footage đ€ą
Ha! It was fine LOL!
On the walk through video, it was a little hard to see the back are of the walk through with the sun glare, so I am mainly looking at the stuff closer to the camera. You had good ideas for the plan – the main thing is the line after the DW which is a difficult decision for sure!
The handling plan had percolated by 2:30, so that is when you should add in connection. In the past, one thing I have done is set a timer on my phone for 2 minutes, at which point I needed to lock in the plan and move to working the connections looking back to the invisible dog (otherwise we can all spend the whole time planning and not leave time to rehearse – planning and rehearsing are not the same). You were looking ahead on the line after the dog walk (good camera view) which rehearses not giving info to him, since he would be behind you at that point. Since you canât really visualize Fever, no problem: in the rehearsal stages, you can look behind you at the obstacles, I think it will work out to be the same in terms of getting the handling prepared for the run.
So the connection part of the walk through will be less about the visualization and more about remembering where he is behind you and to look at the obstacles behind you in those moments.
Your last walk through moments had good speed going! So I think the final (and biggest) piece of the puzzle is the rehearsal of knowing where he will be and turning your head that direction.On the first run – opening looked good. The rear cross was probably the best choice for getting a successful lead out, and he read the turn and found the 2nd tunnel. Layering tunnel-tunnel like that will help him build that skill into bigger distances and adding in different obstacles. Yay!
He got out to he backside nicely – Because we donât want him to continue to rehearse running past the bar on the backside, you can modify the jump after the yellow tunnel by turning it 90 degrees, so he has an easy line to the bar and doesnât run past it. And as you train it, you can then angle that type of jump back into the true backside position.
At :23 you stopped, said good boy, then cued the wrap s othe bar came down – I think that was the only praise moment and the rest of the verbal work was pretty informational – nice job making that adjustment!
After the DW walk, handling with it on your right: You need more rear cross pressure on the line to the jump after the DW at :29. Be converging the whole time towards the center of the bar – you can be converging as he is on the dog walk, rather than running parallel then converging to cue the RC. It is on my list of things to train for the RDW because the dogs need to understand how to continue straight through the contract even as I converge.
Then – the walk through rehearsal bit you – you ran up the line without connection back to him (you were looking forward to the jumps) so he just ran after you. Then there was some start and stop – and At :52 he gave up and got picked up đ When a disconnect happens and he takes nothing but still chases your running path: just reward him. No need to fix it in the moment! Just pretend it was snooker or bypass training and throw the frisbee like he has just won at Worlds. If there is even the slightest chance it is your handling error (and as a fellow handler, I will tell you that it is 99% chance a handling error LOL!) then just reward and donât let him know it was wrong (because he did the best he could with the info provided). If you fix or stop or pick him up… it builds frustration into being on course and that is why he struggled later on as well.
On the 2nd run –
Another good good opening line, he found the backside nicely!! At 1:40 didnât know which side to be on and hit the wing – doing the blind sooner will help smooth that out so he can adjust before takeoff.Handling with the DW on your left works too and it was a good option to try – it is a fine line of that send to the jump after it and quickly turning so he doesnât read it as a rear cross there – one step should do it, then turning for the next jump.
Then – connect on the line after the DW so he can see it. He is very honest!>> There was something in the back of the yard he found very interesting when we were not doing well in handling.
I think when he came out of the tunnel sniffing at 215 then called an Uber, it was more about frustration than it was about anything smelling good – that is why it is so critical to not let the frustration creep into the runs. Reward all the things, all the time, no fixing. Just go fast fast fast fast!
I like the speed line you were doing there and I think he needs the courses adjusted to that for more speed and higher success to help get rid of the frustrations – that will increase motivation exponentially!>> I am say, after each breakdown, he was able to come back which is tremendous.
Yes he was able to come back however… we donât want him to have to come back, we want him to have a great time out there with high success rates. So basically – you either have to do super well in the handling (which is easier said than done for any of us) or you have to act like youâve done super well in the handling – acting is easy! SOmething goes wrong? He doesnât need to know, just whoop it up and throw the reward đ He knows it is wrong when you stop or fix, and when the reward is not heartfelt – all of that builds frustration.
Raising the rate of success will allow you to play with the crazy handling too – because it wonât matter to him if you get it right or not (he wonât know,, he will just let you know how he reads it) and he will get paid for all the things as if they were all perfect đ
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I am glad she is feeling better! Yay! These are good skills to work on as she is getting back into things – easy on the body, hard on the brain LOL! But she didnât have trouble at all!
1st video:
Interesting that she wanted to turn left and head towards the tunnel on the wing turned out past the tunnel (on the left side of the screen) – that was definitely a side preference moment and it was good to work her through it! She had an easy peasy time on the rest, good girl!!!! No problems going from the jump to the wing and ignoring the tunnels.2nd video:
She is also doing well here. She didnât seem to look at any of the off course possibilities, good girl! It was hard to see, she might have had a couple of questions when you took her past the tunnel entry on the way to the jump, but she was pretty perfect on the rest – that is super!!!!Great job here!
TracyMaple
Hi there!
1st video:
The mountain climbers are going really well. She seems happy to run up the teeter (she was totally starting without you LOL!) and this will be useful for angles of entry because she is big. My only suggestion is to duct tape a spoon to the underside of the top of the ramp and leave the reward in it, so she can run to it and the cookie will be there even if you are not đ That will get even more speed and independence.2nd video:
She did well driving to your hand on the lap turns! You were using the hand on the far side of the wing – to get the cue going, use the hand next to the wing. More like what you did at :45, where you also did a great job with the lap turn.
She was a little confused on the next 2 reps – it was because you were moving your leg too soon. Keep your feet together til she is a couple of inches from your hand – then move your hand and step back with your leg. You had great timing of it on the very last rep when you switched sides!Last video:
The Race Tracks were great! When you were connected, she was fast and happy on the lines around the wings and to the tunnels. There was only one little disconnection – at 1:40,you moved your arm forward and looked forward, so she didnât take the tunnel. Baby dogs need very clear connection, more like what you did at :38, for example.
You were doing kind of a tandem/lap combo on the first one, where you were a big sideways. The 2nd rep was more of a lap turn where you faced her and that was smooth! To get the tandem turn, you would be facing forward to the wing and using your upper body to cue the coming in to you then flipping back out. The line of motion is different with the lap versus tandem, but she is doing well understanding how to turn away!Great job here!
TracyHi!
I am glad there was a little kerfuffle with the walk through to the run, it gives us a chance to play with ideas for the walk through.>>. I did what I didnât want to do, and did a FC rather than a BC after the first tunnel.
Yes, your body really wanted that FC! When you feel that happening, you can try marking your line differently. For example, rather than looking back at her as much, you can help get the BC into your soul đ by, while she is in the tunnel, looking forward to 7 to locate it then look back at her on your new side
That will create the blind a lot better. Looking back to her might decelerate you, which might feel like a weight shift, which creates the FC.>>though I called her and moved laterally, I was facing the jump straight ahead. Also, Keiko could see me doing the FC from inside the tunnel and Iâm sure she read it as a directional cue and charged ahead.
She was 100% correct â the FC there set up a perfect line to the off course jump, you can reward when she does that or keep going as if it was correct. When you re-ran it, the BC was great!!!
The rest looked really terrific! Even though you were still being careful, she was very fast!! Loved it!!!
>>Oh, my, but this girl keeps me honest
Correct! If you cue it, sheâs gonna go do it and go do it FAST. When she is more experienced, sheâll save your butt sometimes đ but as a youngster, she is going to give you very exact feedback đ
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
