Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi!
We have break week starting so have some extra time for catching up!
She is looking really good here, so the feedback is on the subtle details. The connection is really nice so I am going to bug you on the tiny details 🙂
On the FC reps to start – nice connection on the opening! On thee first 2 reps at :04 and :12, you were looking ahead at the FC jump and not as much at her, so the FC I do was late and she was wide (the exit line connection looked good!). On the 3rd rep at :20 you were much more connected to her eyes: GREAT turn there!
Yes…. there was a nice connection oopsie at :28 LOL! Beautifully fixed at :37 – but then make the same clear connection to her on the tunnel exit – not how at :38 she comes out of the tunnel looking at you and pushes back out. Clearer connection will help get a smoother line there and will tighten the turn on the jump.
The replay was so funny! Classic disconnect moment, she totally thought it was a blind cross there.
Next sequence: I thought she was correct at 1:04 when she took the blue jump, that is what the body line showed plus your only verbal was “Skip”. On the next rep – you had a clearer decel and turn away from the pink jump so she read it a lot better. You can put that connection more on the takeoff side of the jump, meaning look at her eyes and use the brake arm on the takeoff side rather than on the landing side, for an even tighter line there.
The speed circle then serp is looking really good when she is on your left! On the right, you had your cross arm up more than needed, I think: at 1:43, you were cuing the pink and blue jump with the left arm across the body, and she will do nicely on that line with just connection and not cross arm (the exit line connection is not needed there because there is no cross) – and we don’t want to overuse it because then she will start to ignore it.
At 1:56 you didn’t quite catch her eyes out of the tunnel so when you turned your shoulders, she turned with you. You were clearer at 2:12 but I think the main place you can increase connection is on the tunnel exits. When she enters the tunnel, the next place to look is at the exit – resist temptation to look forward at the next line, because she is very fast and you will lose the info she needs to see on the exit.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She did really well here! It is fun to see her putting the pieces together with the rear crosses. She thought it was weird on the first rep but then added more and more speed and confidence.
You are showing a lot of acceleration on the GO reps, so she is moving faster on those. I think she is ready to see that on the RC reps too: add a little more distance between the jump and the wing, and wait by the wing til she is just about done with the wrap. Then accelerate up the line, but on the same line you used for the RCs (that was very clear to her). Let’s see if she can slide past you in acceleration on the rear! I think she can.
You can also add in the backside wrap on this (Advanced Level) and yes, it leads very nicely into today’s game – the addition of the tunnel will bring the speed into the RCs as well.
Great job!!!!Tracy
Howdy!
Really lovely session here on the RC versus backside versus go! I think he looks great: speed but also really nice turns in both directions! You can add in a little more height on his bar, I think he is ready!! On the first part of the video – really lovely, almost perfect 🙂 One little oopsie at :34 with not quite enough connection but you fixed it on the next rep. I chuckled when he found a new gear of speed on the GO and then couldn’t quite get himself turned into the straight tunnel LOL! He fixed it on the next reps 🙂
My other chuckle was when the other dog (fox terrier?) came out for a visit, strolling along, at 1:22 – the poor little guy almost had a heart attack when the freight train Lennan came driving through LOL!
The other side was a little harder for him but still really good: on the backside wraps – I really liked your position at 1:32, but you relaxed the connection a heartbeat too soon and he slithered into the front side of the jump. You compensated at 1:44 with too much push so he turned off the jump. 1:55 was great!
So going back to your comment about not showing the wing as much – if you plan to run mainly the center of the bar, you will end up showing the full wing on the backside pushes. But be sure to maintain your connection, because he will be able to see the front side of the bar for a bit, and the connection will keep him on the backside.Zig Zags – this also looked great! He is showing good balance and clear lead changes. Love it! No real adjustments need to be made on this one, so…. let’s make it harder LOL! Move the wings in so they are less than 2 meters apart (or a little more than the distance of one 5 foot jump bar). That will require him to have to do the shifts much more quickly (you will have to handle more quickly too :)) Introduce it on 2 wings to get it rolling, then go up to 3 wings. You can also build up the wider line that you did here to 5 wings, but I think he is ready for the challenge the shorter distance/faster lead changes and that is more important than going to 5 wings.
Great job!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
This also looks really good! DANG he is whipping through the turns on the blinds!!! Happy dance!
The race tracks look really good, and then he was also able to process the right or go verbal after the race track lines, which is a nice balance of go fast but still process info.
Some thoughts on timing: the main thought is that most of it was brilliant! On your first blind at :04 – NICE TIMING! Do that all the time LOL! You were finished before he really even got to the wing, and the turn was really nice. :15 was good too, a little more connection on the tunnel exit there will lock him on the line sooner so you can start sooner (your arm was up higher, blocking connection, so he was not as sure about committing). :17 was also good!!
You can be sooner at :06, but that was still a good cross, just not as good as the others 🙂
When you did the FCs instead of the blinds, you had great timing and :47 and :51 – such nice collections! One thought about lines on the exits of the wraps:
On the wraps back to the tunnel at :26 and :51, you were stepping away from the line as you exited the wrap which was drawing him wide. Compare it to 1:11 – you stepped directly away on the line you wanted (no stepping out to the side) – perfect line (plus excellent timing coming in to it). So along with the strong timing to cue the turn, be sure you drive out on the most direct line to the tunnel.
Really fabulous job on these!!!!!
TracyHi!
He is doing so well in the neutral position!!! The right turn seemed like it was easier (he looked both ways as if he was crossing a street LOL!) – the left was a little harder but I think it was because your neutral position was REALLY hard, he was kind of turned away from the entire set up. That is where he did the down & kiss moment – you changed up to a slightly easier challenge (not actually easy, but just not as hard the when he was totally facing away) – and he figured it out from there. Yay! The neutral position on this game is SO HARD and I am really impressed that he can do it!!! Nice job!!!! (And he is bending through the turns really nicely too 🙂 )
THi! This session looked really good when he was on your right! The first serp rep was very subtle and connected, and he read it really well! The 2nd rep was more obvious, and he read it fine, but I think the subtle first rep was perfect!
How serps on the other side looked great too! If there has to be a question on this game, the NOT wanting the tunnel in favor of the serp is the best possible option LOL!!! Stepping in to help him out was perfect for the tunnel sends on your left – I prefer that the serps are a bit stronger than the tunnels on this game (it is designed to teach the serp in favor of the tunnel :)) so it is FINE that he preferred the serp 🙂 On a ‘real’ course the distance and your position would make it easy to get the tunnel. So, great job on the serps and no worries about the not wanting the tunnels as much 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
Wow, the blinds are looking great!! She was really leading with her head around the wings and turning so nicely!!! Her commitment is also looking really good 🙂– [x] I was looking to see if I could figure out is she was stronger or weaker on one side or the other, or is she was distracted by the cookies – but I think the oopsies were either lateness (because she found a new gear of speed) or one of your arms getting too high or needing a leg step as part of the cue.
Here are some specifics:
Because she is committing so nicely, you can start the blinds sooner: at :22 and :48 when she came out of the tunnel for example, you started turning before she even got to the wing. Yes! Compare it to :34 when you started turning for the blind after she arrived at the wing, and she ended up wide there (late info).
One thing to definitely add is using the arm across the body to connect with her on the exit of the blind (and reward from that hand). You were connecting with the dog-side hand, which made it a little harder to see the connection so she was a little wider. Connection with the arm across the body will show more connection, and will get the blinds even tighter 🙂
When you switched to the food container, she got even faster 🙂
She had a little refusal at 1:02, but I believe it was because you didn’t give her a strong foot step into the wrap, as compared to the earlier reps (those good commitments on the wraps all had a really nice clear footstep and this one didn’t).
At 1:14 on the blind, she didn’t make it to the new side (she picked up MORE speed from the cookie container! :)) If you freeze the video at 1:13 as she is rounding the wing, you are still connecting to her on your left side and haven’t start the blind yet so you were a little late 🙂 1:19 was earlier so she got it. At 1:30, your dog-side arm was getting higher than your shoulder, so it blocked the connection and turned your shoulders, so she didn’t take the wing. She got mad LOL! The lower arm and better eye contact on the next rep really helped and on the last rep too 🙂 Yay!So overall, I think this is going REALLY well and you can start the blinds sooner, rewarding across the body – be sure to keep your arms low when she exits the tunnel so you can have really clear connection as part of the commitment cue. Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
Great job!!
TracyHi! This was an interesting session! She IS slippery LOL!!!!
I wonder if the noise of the PT triggers some type of brain chemistry change thanks to the association with it, which changes arousal states just by having it present? I am not sure if it was why she was diving in on the threadle (perhaps the threadle line was the more efficient path to the PT?) – many dogs dive in for Threadles in this set up sometimes, but it is possible that the PT is the trigger.
A few ideas for the next session – you can mix them all in at some point, to see what helps her produce the serp without threadles 🙂– You can support the parallel path by being closer to the line from the wing to the jump, not getting as far ahead: this was helping her when you were doing a bit of this.
– You can do the game without the out as a reward target (you can have the reward in your hand and toss it when she comes in) to see if the placement of the PT was causing her to drive in to the threadle. No reward target is fine because when she *was* serping, her exit line was good!
– for the reps where you want to get ahead and potentially move faster, you can angle the serp jump so the exit wing is pushed further away from the line, causing the bar to be facing her so the serp bar is easy to get to but the threadle is really hard – then gradually angle it back to the ‘flat’ presentation that she saw here.
– change the position of the PT so it is in line with the wing or even slightly on takeoff side of the serp jump – that will offer up a different challenge, of course, but it can help keep her out on the line and not cut in for the threadle.Let me know what you think! The 2nd video was marked as private so. I didn’t get to see it. Tracy
Hi!
>>THIS! Yes…that I noticed on the video. I’m definitely looking at her eyes, but I then WATCH HER jump and land before making the turn.>>
Well, she is cute and fun to watch, so it is understandable LOL!
>>I was gonna post it last night, but I didn’t want you to get sick of me…and to be honest, I fell asleep as the videos were uploading!
Bwahahaha!! I will not get sick of you LOL! And also I understand the whole falling asleep thing after long days 🙂
>>hen had a wild night owl banding and only got a nap before my 4AM alarm for work!
Holy cow – owl banding? Wow!!!!
>>Yes…making a mental note! I thought I was getting a little dog…somehow I would up with a 20 inch jumper in a 12 lb body!>>
Yep, I feel that – I thought my first small dogs (at Rat Terrier and then a Border Jack) would be easier to run than the big dogs because they were small, right??!? Nope. NOT easier run, just harder to see because they were lower to the ground LOL!
>>I am definitely unlocking what she needs from me to help her process…she said she will train me even if it kills her! LOL
LOL!! You are listening to her feedback so she is happy with your cues 🙂
On the first video – nice! Great connection and turn cues, she did a great job committing and turning! You were definitely getting out of there earlier, especially on the last spin at :30! Now… push out harder 🙂 Let’s see if we can find where the commitment breaking point it. On the FCs, try to be running away to the next obstacle as soon as she passes you and before takeoff. On the spins… don’t even look at her take off 🙂 Just cue and leave, trying to finish the blind in time to see her land. If it is too much push,then we can dial it back but I think she will be able to handle it!
Sequence 2:
The first part was really nice for the FC, building on what you were already doing in terms of leaving early to get up the next line – I think you defaulted to it because you had just been working on it 🙂 I think on the 2nd half you were thinking on your feet – it was not prefect but it is an important skill for her to keep driving the line as we think on our feet… because it happens and we love it when they save us LOL!
“Can you smell the smoke” LOLRep 2: VERY nice turn at :29! At :32 she totally was convinced that it was a turn away. I don’t know her well enough to know exactly why, but I am sure she had a reason – it was probably that you were too early on the rotation so she was feeling the pressure on the line or that is one of your RC tools and she recognized it.
Rep 3 – another really nice opening!!!! You are mastering the fine art of connection and low arms. At :44 on the jump after the tunnel, she took off early and big which means she had a question. Obsessing on it in slow motion, I think it was that you were not connected clearly enough back to her, so she was still not sure if it was a left turn or a right turn. It could also have been that you were outside the bubble: being far ahead plus not quite enough connection = the big jumping. Compare it to :38 when she exited the other side of the tunnel, you had nice eye contact so she jumped very efficiently there.
Rep 4 – on this rep and also on the other reps back to the tunnel on the opening line, you were pretty far ahead but also nicely connected – so the jumping was nice and efficient! So I am beginning to think the bubble is expanding based on good connection! And on the jump after the tunnel at 1:06, you were rotated and shifted connection – so she was able to collect really nicely! You were way ahead when she saw the cues but the connection there was STRONG… excellent jumping effort. Yay! I think we are on to something!!!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think! I fingers crossed for no more monsoons so you can test out the new pants LOL!
TracyHi!
It makes me happy that you had a lot of happiness here 🙂 And BIG happy dance on him understanding the difference between check and left. SO useful!!!
On the video – the first spin looked good but he slipped a bit.. the second spin at :20 looked GREAT! You decelerated sooner and turned sooner so you were already rotated and gone before he took off and reconnected with enough time for a phone call before he landed 🙂 Great turn, no slipping!
The FC on that sequence was good, but it causes a slightly wider line so he had a harder time picking up the collection before takeoff. That does put you in a good position to get the turn back out of the tunnel to the weaves, though!On the FC at :44 and :52 – these were good and you were not backing up on the 2nd one 🙂 The first one had one step of backing up 🙂 The 2nd was REALLY good at :52 but I am stuck on the turn you got at :20 so I think you can get the same collection here by driving right into the wing and decelerating to rotate nice and early (like at :20) – the difference being you shift more strongly connection to his eyeballs before takeoff and maintain it on the exit back to the tunnel for the FC.
The switch reps when nicely! The second one was better – you put the RC pressure onto the line earlier at 1:15 so he was on the far side of the wing for the RC. At 1:02 on the previous rep, you stayed on the inside wing for too long so he read the RC but was on the center of the bar.
The FC on the ‘switch’ side of the wing looks really good! Nice shifted connection and you stepped directly forward out of it for a lovely exit line. The FC to get there after the tunnel was a little late, so he was a little wide then ended up shaping around you for the turn. For the cross to get to the other side of the tunnel, lead out more so you start that FC (or a BC) when he is still 3 or 4 feet before the tunnel entry so he knows it is coming, then you will easily be done with it before he exits.
On the FC sequence:
Lots of good things to see here in terms of how he responded to the cues! At 1:36, you sent forward on the FC with your left arm, so he was slicey and a little wide. 1:41 (the 2nd wrap on the sequence) was good but I think an earlier decel will make it gooder LOL! Nice stepping out of the FC forward to the tunnel there!
1:51 had slightly less swoosh with your left arm and that helped, and less swoosh on the send also set up an earlier rotation so it was tighter… but can still be tighter. I think if you stay closer to the exit wing of the FC jump, you can set the line back to the jump and tunnel and then leave for the next wrap. That next wrap at 1:55 had a nice transition and rotation so a nicer turn for sure! Yay!
At 2:07 you stayed longer to set the line back to the tunnel – very nice! And at 2:12 you really emphasized the exit line on the FC back to the tunnel – super!!!
On the first FC there (it is an especially hard one because it looks so much like a slice) – I think you can get it even better by keeping your send arms lower/quieter like you were doing at 1:51 and 2:07 but also shift your connection to his eyes on the send, rather than forward. That can add one more touch of collection and get it perfect. 🙂The In-then-switch looked good!!! And yay for the left verbals! I liked the 2nd rep even better at 2:44 where you had a small attention cue (“Enz!”) right before the directionals – he set up a nice turn! And the lefts looked really good! So fun!!!
Great job on all of these – it is so nice to see him really responding to all the cues, so we can look at the tiny details 🙂
TracyHi! I am glad that the spins/wraps/etc feel natural with him – Flurry’s generation has helped us all improve our foundation skills, so I think the Skye/Hot Sauce generation have MUCH better skills! And Skye and his cohorts have taught us TONS too, so the younger generation is getting an even different approach. I think that is the most fun part. And it has been SO nice watching Skye put it all together! He is a talented dude 🙂
On the timing runs – yes, raise the bars, the timing will be a little different. I like to practice this stuff on all sorts of different heights to make sure that I am watching and not trying to go on a rhythm. And yes to gradually raising the bars on the wraps too – it is different jumping mechanics for him. And leaving the bars low at the class is perfect because he is working on different things there (distractions, distractions and also… distractions :))
Serpentines: I like the idea of using the dropping-the-shoulder back as you described. The exit line arm on the serp is not to indicate the coming in, but rather it is to help make the eye contact on the exit line. So handle the “come in” part of the serp as you normally would, then very subtly put the other arm across your belly to help emphasize the eye contact on the exit line. Then we will fade it out and won’t need it at all, we will just use the eye contact 🙂 Let me know if that makes sense!
On the video: You were a tiny bit late on the first 2 jumps of the first rep then you got locked on and nailed it 🙂 Perfect!
The wraps are looking good in terms of commitment and SUPER in terms of exit line connection! When you raise the bars a bit (maybe just to 12” for now to try this): let’s play with the transitions. I think you can start your decel sooner to be able to turn sooner to tight up his collection before the bar (it will be more obvious when the bar is a little higher). So he exits the tunnel and has to take a moment to accelerate because he is tall – that is when you are in the ‘fast forward’ mode. But then when he is maybe one stride out of the tunnel, start to decelerate as you move forward. Then when he is about 4 or 5 feet from the jump, start the cross – he might not be past you yet but if the transition was clear, he will be happy to commit. The higher bar will give you a better idea of the timing there.Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She did really well transferring her rear cross learning to the jump here!! Yes, get the turn cue out sooner. – she was already turning based on the body language so I bet you can say your turn cue almost immediately after the release. One thing tp add on this game if you aren’t already doing this: mix in a bunch of reps where you *don’t* cut in behind her – you just run up close and keep going straight so she goes straight when you release 🙂 We want to be sure she is not anticipating but rather watching the cues 🙂
Based on the success here, I think she is ready for you to add a wing and more motion. You can warm her up with a couple of RCs like you did here, then add in sending around the wing and moving through it. Let me know how she does, I am sure she will be great 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
She did really well on the blinds here! She got faster and faster 🙂 She also did really well ignoring the toy in your hand – yo can totally use a treat in the hand too, it might be easier to hold and easier for her to ignore. The thing in the hand is more of a reminder for us how to connect after the blind, so it does not have to be a toy 🙂 She did seem to enjoy changing you for the toy though LOL!
On the wideness – it is just a matter of timing to get them tight. At this point, it is going well, so you can start her in the tunnel. Send to the tunnel then cue the wing – when you see her heading to the wing but she is still 5 or 6 feet from it…start the blind 🙂 Your motion and verbal will support the wing, and then you will be able to be finished with it before she finishing coming around the wing, which will result in a tight turn 🙂 Drawing your arms in tight to your body will also help make the blind happen quickly – she keeps picking up new gears of speed so bring in your arms tight to your ribs will help you turn you head really quickly to finish the blind.
Speaking of new gears of speed…. I think she really liked the pump-and-run race tracks!!! Your connection and verbals were spot on. As soon as you shifting in pump-and-run mode at :29 WOWZA she got on the line super fast, stayed on it, and ran in big extension. So fun!! That will be a useful skill because she is committing so well and you were flying up the lines. Great job!!!Tracy
Hi!
I am liking the ladder grid in the first video! I think the angled jumps are more of a distraction than it looks like in person. In slow motion, he has a little “moment” on the release, just a tiny hiccup before driving in especially on rep 3. It is almost like he needs a heartbeat to organize himself. It is not as immediately fluid as the release on the non-angled bars. It is not a worry, but it is interesting to see him say “whoa! This is different! I am sure it will be gone in the next session 🙂
On the non-angled grid what was the height of bars 1 and 3? I think they are too easy now 🙂 Raise them 2 inches so he is jumping not running LOL!! He looked balanced overall so we can ramp up the challenge a tiny bit.The set point is showing really good organization as he is entering over the first jump and his form is good! He is still bringing his hind end up higher – I think it might just be that there is no place else to go, so there is no reason for him to drive through it with the rear. Comparing it to the middle jump of the ladder grid, even with the bars lower, there is some place to go on jump 2 so he is shifting into the rear better. He was a little forward on the last rep of the ladder grid but the others were more balanced. So on the set point, try adding more motion and as you release – throw the ball while you move up the line 🙂 It will give him the option to add more impulsiveness which might help keep him wanting to sit into his rear rather than have it come up. Let me know if that makes sense! He is doing really well so it will be fun to see if we can sort out the magic formula 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
