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Yay! There is always room for more coffee in my world.
>>Continue with the 10,14,14 pattern looking for (what?) Since he needs to get around the jump, he can’t go directly out of the sit, so looking for smoothness? Minimal strides into it?
Yes – we are looking for smoothness, like a dolphin gliding through the waves – and minimal foot tapping before takeoff. You will actually hear the power to it, even on grass. Working on the front end will sound busier because you can hear the foot taps like a bit of shuffle and you might hear him grunt when he lands. When he is on the rear, the hind end hits will be louder but his breathing will be silent and the space between hind end hits will be silent too.
T
Hi!
>>Question: Would you prefer I put all the videos pertaining to one exercise together if they are ready to post at the same time, or do you prefer to just have one video in each post?I think either way is fine, it depends on how you want to read the replies 🙂 Having one video per post makes it easy to discuss the video directly under it as a reply.
>>Here is our work from both sides of the tunnel and from various points along the sides. I was talking to her quietly and as I felt her push or pull get stronger, I raised my voice. I think the only “tunnel” you hear is the last, louder one for each send.
This looked good! She is effectively learning backside tunnel entries from these angles and she seemed to have no questions 🙂 Doing the verbals as you describe above worked really nicely, it built the excitement! Feel free to continue saying tunnel until she is in the tunnel: when we add in you moving away and countermotion, I do recommend that people keep giving the verbal to support the youngsters so they don’t lose confidence at the last moment when the momma is miles away 🙂
The other thing you can do from these dog-on-outside sends is now delay the click of the MM – wait til she is all the way in an then you can wait til she is almost all the way through! You can move the MM a little further away from the exit – that, plus waiting to click it, will add a bit more challenge and also build even more speed and commitment.
>> I decided not to do the last part where the dog is on the inside between handler and tunnel because I felt she had had enough for a warm morning. We’ll give the other part a try later – or another day.>>
That makes sense! You can do a quick warm up rep or two on this game, then switch to the dog-on-the-inside game. I am sure she will do a great job with it too 🙂
Great job. Have fun, stay cool!!
TracyThis looks excellent, she clearly likes the tunnel 🙂 You can do a parallel path approach to the short straight tunnel as well, back and forth just like you did on the jump (above). Rather than the MM, you would throw her treats. I think she would like it a lot 🙂 LOL!!!
Hi! This is looking really good and yes, she was happy to pick up the pace. I love that! No worries about the moments when she would look up at you after the click – there was nothing else to look at LOL! You can get the treats thrown a little sooner, but again – no worries. The click does tend to produce that as the pups are learning this game, but she will learn very quickly to associate your parallel motion with looking ahead for reinforcement – and looking at you will go away (we also fade the clicker and add more motion, which helps too!).
Great session here! This game really gets brilliant commitment without you having to over-help or outrun her 🙂
TracyHi!
>>I love how this dog and I work together. It’s so cool to come across a dog who gets me.
I was just going to say how I loved your laugh when he drove to the toy! Clearly you and Fizz are enjoying each other, it shows in your teamwork already! That is pretty darn amazing with such a young dog 🙂
>> And I love these games, they are perfect for where we are at right now!!
Yay! Glad to hear it! I have found that they transfer REALLY easily to actual course running! Too bad the pandemic shut things down for a while… my just-turned-2-year-old pup had just started trialing and was transferring these skills brilliantly AND happily (which matters to me more than the brilliance, to be honest :))
On the video he did super well on his sandwich games here 🙂 The hardest part was him reading the decel on the drive to handler elements – he was decelerating a little late so the turns were not as tight and I think it was just about timing of the deceleration. I think he just needs to see it earlier – he is driving in FAST and very directly to you (PERFECT, so many BCs drift out, so I am loving his directness!) that you barely have a moment after the blind to slow down and stand up a little into the collection cue. Easy fix though – I couldn’t see what he was driving to away from you at the start of each sandwich, but you will need more of a head start/ lead out LOL! If you are sending him away to a treat, you can try putting the treat in a bowl or on a target so it is highly visible – and send from further away, maybe 20 feet away. And, if he will eat the cookie, you can move away just before he gets to the cookie – when he turns to head back to you, you will be 6 miles ahead and starting the blind basically as soon as he turns towards you. So that way when you finish the blind, you can slow down/stand up a little while he is still a good 10 feet or so away from you. On these reps, he was just about on your cookie hand as you finished the blind (speedy!!) 🙂
He had no trouble driving back to the toy, thanks in part to the verbal cue you already have on it. Yay! Interestingly, when you do the slight restraint before the toy send, he doesn’t want to look at the toy, he keeps his head turned towards you – but then drives perfectly to the toy. It might be a bit of an insight as to how he reacts to a bit of physical pressure? Nothing to worry about at all, I just thought it was interesting to see 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I am mentally challenged with fitting the size of the course for this week into my space…well I’m basically challenged with course building in general! Hope that makes sense.
Yes, sounds good! And we can look at it based on what is set up, not the course map.
>>Jessica told me that I give my verbals too late or at least I was saying “tight” and “back” too late so I guess I need to work on that. This is why I never used verbals….I was NEVER timely so I felt like it was better to shut up and just handle.
The verbals for the next thing should start at the exit of the previous obstacle, in general. The exception might be on forward verbals such as GO or obstacle cues like TUNNEL – you don’t want to give those until he is looking at the correct line. I will keep bugging you and verbal timing, you will totally get comfy with it 🙂
>>Question on training specialty jumps…I don’t have a triple…can I just line 3 single bar jumps together to practice it and would I do it like the oxer jump as in the set point exercise or should I just let him approach it as a jump without the sit/stay/jump bump set up.
Yes to making your own triple – and definitely show it to him in a familiar set up: low heights and in a set point and at the end of a jump grid.
>>I haven’t competed in agility in so long…do you know if AKC still has a regular double with the bars set the same or is it now ascending?
I have no idea, but I can ask around!
>>I thought maybe in August I might start introducing a jump here and there at 12″ as well as training the set point prior to that.
Yes, definitely! Especially if he is going to run 12″ courses this fall.
Course 1: this went pretty well, a couple of ideas for you for tightening up some spots!
Speaking of verbals… what does the ‘jump’ cue mean, specifically? If it is a general commitment cue like #3, that is fine but you also used it at 4 on both runs – so he was wide and barked. on the first run. At 4, calling his name as he was approaching it or a left cue would be more helpful to get the tight turn into it.On 5, you did the wrap – but the slice line will be easier/faster for him here. Based on the deciding factors (where he is coming from, where he is heading, and shortest path) – the slice to 6 is very fast! The handling is a little harder, but there are a lot of options: BC or RC are probably the best ones there.
Keep moving through the FC 6-7-8. You sent a bit and ended up off that perfect path line, so he was a little wide. This is where you can sue your right and left cues earlier – when he is finished with the turn at 5 and around the wing, you can be starting the right cue (and saying it more than once). And on the way to 8, you can use the left cue a lot earlier too – as soon as you finish the FC and he lands and has turned – say left. At :47, you said it just before he took off, which is indeed a little late.
On the 8 jump, your said left – that might be a wrap cue moment because you want him to come very tight around the wing.
8-9 at :14 is a definite eye contact moment. Speaking of don’t say a forward cue like an obstacle name unless he is looking at the one you want: you said jump while he was looking at the one behind you, so that is where he went. I would reward that.
You had better connection there at :28 and definitely at :49!! to help him take the correct :9At :32 as he exited the tunnel – try not to throw the toy quite as early – it was more of a lure for the last jump and we need to make sure the handling will get him there. He was curling into you when you threw it, so remember to make a strong connection to him on the tunnel exit to get the last jump. Throw the toy when he is looking at the last jump, not before that. You handled the ending a lot more clearly on the 2nd rep (:52) to be sure he got the jump before the toy throw.
Course 2:
The connection on this run was lovely!! And really good handling choices.
Based on how this is set, a front crossy option is the best choice 2-3 – either the lead out push you did on the first run, or running into a FC. You had a nice line 2-3!!
2 little areas of ideas for you:
At 6 – don’t move your shoulders quite as much – just open them into serp position and leave them open, so he has more of a tight line to 7 – moving the shoulders back and forth creates a bit of a loopy line.On the serp-blind 10-11-12 on the 11 jump: positionally, you were a little early on the blind (not passed the exit wing yet) – this german type of backside exit needs us to be further up the line. To get there – try not to go as close to the 10 jump so you can cue the 11 backside from closer to the exit wig – that way you can move directly forward to 12 and do the blind after you you have passed the exit wing.
Then start your decel for the 12 wrap sooner: as he is finishing exiting the wing at 11, you should be slowing down and starting the verbal. I couldn’t hear the verbal all that well but it seemed to happen as he was jumping.
Course 3: one thing to note: 2 is a backside 🙂 Having a straight opening line is a different challenge but the backside exit of 2 sets up the 3-4 line more easily.
On the blind cross 3-4: I like the BC there! It is a relatively tight turn blind, which means it should be more decelerated than accelerated. Ideally, you would release while running then decelerate into the blind cross. You did the opposite at :04 and :11 and :19: you were decelerated on the lead out then when he landed from 2 and was heading to 3, you accelerated then blinded – that made the new connection late and he thought you wanted extension from the acceleration. He did come back and find the correct side on the first rep- be sure to reward all that immediately, rather than stopping or walking away. You used really strong connection at :11 and :19 to catch his eyes earlier.
At :35 and 2:38 you did it as a long lead out FC which had much better timing so you immediately had a better turn – but makes it harder to get out of the way so he had to jockey around you a little bit on landing.OK, let’s get into some nitty gritty of setting up success on course, keeping him fast and problem solving in the moment.
>>I don’t know if I had the jumps 6-7 too close or what but getting him to the backside for 11 was an extreme challenge.
Yes, the proximity of the off course was creating an extra bypass challenge, but provides some good dog training moments!
>> He was getting a bit jump happy there for a couple of minutes just going off on a tangent taking jumps even after I stopped.
Yep – he was working at a super low rate of success and also you were showing frustration – so he was avoiding and guessing. When he fails to get a turn or jump you want… you can either reward in the moment if he saved you but was wide, or instantly fix on that one jump (by sending to the backside if he took a front side) and reward. Then, and this is important: assume it was the cue and fix that clearly before you ask for another rep. Assume it is something that needs to be earlier or more connected or maybe a different cue! Don’t withhold reinforcement and ask again, reward happily and if you can’t figure it out – just don’t ask again until after you have looked at the video. When you don’t reward, you are dropping the rate of success each time it happens – and in agility handling, 2 things to remember: rate of success for the dog needs to be 80 or higher, and the dog’s response on course is always based on what they see and when they see it 🙂 And if you withhold reinforcement AND looked frustrated… you are adding punishment to the mix even if it is unintentional – which produces stress behaviors.
I step away from courses all the time when I can’t figure out how to get the dog through it – might try a couple of times, rewarding happily, and then stop when I can’t figure it out.
>> I was trying to conserve his energy but no, he had his own agenda.
I would say it was him trying to guess, being a good boy!
>>so then I tried saying “Left” but he still went very wide towards the tunnel before curving back to me do then I tried the BC and saying his name…still very loopy but I knew he was not going for the tunnel at least. I feel like he does not know that when I send and hang back he’s supposed to return in my direction. Do you think I need to practice a skill set on that?>>
I think it is definitely worth working that section in isolation – that way your timing can be a lot sooner (he was already committed to jumping long when you decelerated) and also you can build the drive back to you with reward reward reward, even if the turn is not perfect at first – the cue predicts where the reward will be, so you don’t have to wait til it is where you want it to reward (especially if there is a possibility that the cue was late)
On the 6 jump a quick recap to look at rate of success:
at :40 a big go jump cue and then a really late name call. He did not get rewarded for saving you there – which likely contributed to the off course tunnel on the re-send at :47 (“if coming to you was not correct there, then it must have been the tunnel, right?”) He came to you at :52 but did not get rewarded (but your position didn’t really indicate anything other than the jump he took) but then at :56 he took that jump (for the 3rd time) and *did* get rewarded. I am confused LOL!! But then took it again at 1:05 and did *not* get rewarded. Took it at 1:12 with you running backwards and got rewarded… took it at 1:27 but did not get rewarded (but did continue!) So looking at the rate of success – 7 reps there, 3 rewards (I don’t count continuing as a reward when we are working on a behavior). That is a little under 50% rate of success in that moment so he was confused.Later on – The blind cross at 2:31 and 2:44 definitely worked there! Good reward too at 2:31.
On the tunnel to the backside 10-11 section:
1:29 – tunnel cue but no turn cue, motion at 1:32 kept him on his line to the off course (no reward)
at 1:37 you did a right cue – he turned and looked at you, you stepped towards the off course, he went off course, you got deflated (1:41), no reward
reward at 1:46 for turning right – he is now running slowly though, being careful.
1:52, he looked at you, your motion supports the off course , probably no reward (video cuts off)
1:56 – he turned right but didn’t get the backside (unclear cue) – no reward, you stop, hand on head.2:02 – good to break it down! But you line him up with a physical cue, he looks away (dogs generally do NOT like being put into a stay position) and then he gets it – no reward other than continuing, reward at end.
So in this section, you had 6 reps – looks like 1 toy reward in the spot you were working and 1 reward after continuing on. Plus definite moments of letting frustration show, which I count as punishing to the dog. So if we count the reward at the end, it is a little under 35% success rate, added to the previous section’s success rate of 50% – resulting in a session with a success rate that was entirely too low, so he slowed down and you got some extra jumps and loopy turns.
At 2:50, a bit late on the right cue on the tunnel exit then at 2:51 you you were pointing to the backside and turning your shoulders away, so he took the front side. (no reward) notice how he slows down and then on the tunnel exit at 2:56 gets ‘hoppy’.
He finished strong and gets the reward at the end.
So – try to have more of a success meter in your head. The number 1 priority is to have a high rate of success on course, even if it means ending a session or breaking it down so you can protect that. If you get more than 2 errors, then the meter in your head should be flashing red lights (I have a meter in my head that is constantly ticking off successes or failures during training sessions). And any time you withhold reinforcement, you will need to double down on how to get reinforcement to him on the next rep – protect your high rate of success like it is gold! The smoothness of the course running is secondary to the success rate during course running – and by success rate, I mean how much reinforcement he gets. The toy and the treats are a primary reinforcement, and continuing/praise are secondary reinforcement. The instant either of those stop or go away, the meter in your head should start reminding you to get reinforcement in. And, some courses just go sideways for whatever reason, kind of like Course 3 did – so if the reinforcement meter in your head is flashing red lights, you can abort mission on the piece that is causing the difficulty, do a couple of easy things to get the rate of success high again, then at some point revisit the hard section with a different plan for reinforcement.Let me know if that makes sense!
TracyGood morning!
On the sequences:
I didn’t see any noticeable difference in his speed or attitude with the higher bars here. And being a second faster on each is terrific!!! You can start further from 1 so he can power into it especially as you raise the bars – he should have at least one full extension stride before the first jump, so start him at least 12 feet back or more 🙂
Nice timing on the blinds at :05 and :19! Nice job with the connection afterwards too 🙂 Remember to stay noisy – he likes the noise when you call him and use verbals. You were quiet here, so keep reminding yourself to use the verbals.On the threadle drills – Good job with the verbals!! And the 180 lines look really strong. He is reading the threadles when you rotate your feet towards him (:28, :40, and 1:19 on the little drills, and 1:45, 1:59, 2:15 on the sequences). When you turn less (:50) or back up (1:01, 1:10), he does not read them as well. One of the things we ideally want to teach him and use is that you will not need to turn your feet at all during threadles – your feet and lower body will look identical to the feet & lower body on the 180s but your upper body and verbal make the difference.
So, starting with the 2 jumps further apart (so he has more time to process what your upper body and verbal are doing) – send him over jump 1 and then threadle but don’t turn your feet towards him, keep walking towards the second jump. Start by moving very slowly – if you try to go too fast, he will probably just cue off your motion and take the 180. When he can get it with you moving slowly but steadily, then you can work up to gradually adding more and more speed – eventually you will be able to run hard through them 🙂Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Apologies for the confusion! Sometimes it all makes perfect sense in my head but the clarity doesn’t make it to my fingers or the keyboard 🙂>>I think I can follow your instructions but I don’t understand the objective of the backside start. What you wrote when we first added it was:
“So… on 3 jumps: Send him in as a backside send to the first jump (10″ to start, just to set up success).”
But I don’t understand how that sets up success. >>Sending to the backside to start is to help him with backside slice entries, such as German turns – so he can power to the entry wing and set himself up to take the jump all while you are gone up the next line. The regular zig zag grids which are looking so lovely as more about front side slices/serpentines, and what to do on the backside of a jump when he has already arrived there. When he was being sent into the backsides, he was buying himself time before choosing a takeoff spot with pattering (tap dancing) with his front feet – which also indicates that he might not yet be thinking about weight shift to hind end and powering off his rear.
the 10″ jump as the start should set him up to successfully read it and set his rear because a 10″ jumping effort is easy for him – so he doesn’t have to look at the bar height and think “HOW??” he can just look at it and think about his form. At 14 or 16, he has a bit too much multitasking there.
>>Similarly, I don’t understand why I should start him so he bounces into the grid.
Great question!! 2 reasons:
first, plyometrics – building the strength and form to push into it (hind end). I was just chatting with me rehab vet about this yesterday!
second, which is likely related to the first: getting the organization of the plyometrics to be immediate and not requiring any active thought (muscle memory) while also getting rid of the habit of the front foot pattering (which leads to poorer form)>>Why not start further back and let him figure out his striding into it?
Because he might not figure it out in a way we like, then he is rehearsing form we don’t want, then we need to go back and undo it. It is about getting form rehearsed and into muscle memory before we add speed which requires the form to happen as a quick twitch with more challenge.
>> How would I know where to start him?
Trial and error – usually between 6 inches and a foot away from the first jump. I look for immediate liftoff, not extra tap of the front feet. If I get the extra tap, I move the dog a little closer to the bar.
>>When I consider the backside starts (:17, :21, :25) and compare how he jumps #’s 2 and 3, I don’t see a difference to the frontside starts (:29, :34) jumps 2 and 3.
The front feets tell the story 🙂 Subtle differences in the approach.
>>Also, I thought the objective was to eventually get to full height (20”). Based on your advice to take this into maintenance mode, I guess not…
The 20″ height is a lot of bang on the body – and based on how he is doing at 16 and how he has transferred it to the courses, I don’t think you need to do it on the grid (I am a little obsessive about saving bang on the body). He has transferred it nicely so far!
>>Also, we had been saying to only do this once a week. If we are going to twice a week, does that mean he is doing better?
Yes, I think he is doing better! The grids look good but more importantly – this jumping effort on the courses looks good!! For the harder grid with the backside push to start on lower bars – if it is a warm up and just a couple of reps – once or twice a week is fine. I don’t think he needs full on sessions twice a week of this, but you can use it as a warm up for maybe 2 reps before course running. If you are going to do a full on session where he does 6 reps of 5 jumps each, for example – once a week or every other week is all that is needed.
Let me know if this makes more sense or if I need more coffee 🙂
T
It was great seeing you last weekend, even with social distancing and masks and a LOT of sweat 🙂
Both of your boys looked awesome 🙂Interesting thoughts about Roadie! I don’t think you ever really saw my Voodoo when he was Roadie’s age: slow, legs flopping everywhere. I kind of thought he was going to be slow and I fully embraced the idea that he would be the medium speed dog that I would be able to Q a lot with, maybe work on those BIG titles that are harder to get when your dog goes a zillion miles an hour like Export and Matrix. And I do remember thinking that maybe he just was not as clever as my terriers and terrier mixes 🙂
Yeah, well… have you seen Voodoo recently? Turns out that thoughtful young male dogs are simply learning and processing. Somewhere around 2.5 years old, Voodoo said “I GOT THIS!” and now he is so fast that I can barely keep a thought in my brain. Definitely NOT the easy dog to Q with. In fact, we don’t Q often but when we do lay down a clear round, we are easily 2 seconds faster than many of the top teams out there.
So the lesson? To chill out with my baby boy puppies and let them learn, develop the relationship. I am sure my Contraband is considered slow right now… but he and Roadie are both going to grow up to be FAST with a tremendous understanding of what to do! Fun times ahead 🙂
T
Good morning!
>>Glad you liked the BC from 3 to 4. Probably not my “go to” move but I didn’t see any other way to get downstream, so we went for it.
It worked perfectly!
>> Also, I was further away from 2 on a move that was mostly a forced front but, again, necessity is the mother.
Yes! About 18 months ago, I had the chance to train what Nicola Giraudi – he was just back from winning the AWC and being crowned World Champion. He was (sorta) an OMD instructor – and he set up a course with a backside at 2, and put us waaaaaaay downstream for a forced front cross, basically 3 miles away. His reasoning was same as yours: the dogs will read it if the proper understanding is in place and it allows us to get where we need to be. And I totally tried it because I am a big fan of getting where I need to be, and if the current World Champ was telling me to do it…. worked like a charm!
>> And once you let a RC slip into your handling, you are probably behind for a good long time.
Agreed! Of course, in certain situations it is the best choice, but we do need to strategize to not get left in the dust 🙂
>>Still, I was very surprised that he curled in on #13. Even looking at it now, I expect him to honor the pressure.
I think we need to teach him that is it both acceptable and appropriate to lead change away on that pressure. It is one of those “by permission only” behaviors (in other words, we don’t want them to do it without a physical and verbal cue) but this is the week we show it to him. You won’t need it a lot but holy cow it will be helpful when you do use it!
>> A tremendous amount of our work is still “motion based”* versus trained. And most of it will be forever.
Same here! There are things we are training training training… but motion is what is the strongest cue I have to offer the dogs. I have not trained the verbals to the level of the Russian handlers 🙂
>>Ps: The phrase “motion based” was used as a slur describing Linda’s handling system; I think it was Bud Houston but I could be mistaken. I tend to use it when I want to remind myself that motion IS the most powerful cue. And if you want to go counter to motion, you had better put in the training time.>>
Yes! Interesting that some think it is a slur. I think it is just the truth LOL!!! But there was a lot of trash talking for a while among the top handlers/system developers in North America. It was pretty ugly which is why I am pretty unaffiliated. I admire LM for what she has brought to the table for all of us to learn from, and what she and Jenn Crank and that group continue to do. And I love talking to LM when I see her in various places – she is happy to share her current way of thinking – and the last time I chatted with her, we were absolutely talking about how the trained skills needed to be in place for when we had to move counter to the natural line of motion (we were both students at a Justine Davenport/Jessica Patterson seminar).
I find this stuff fascinating and educational!
T
Hi!
>>Yes you were right. Timing was not an issue,all that was needed was a deep breath and courage. Next step is to try with the weaves. Don’t know that you will get me to do it at a trial but with more practice ???
I have used all sorts of positive reinforcement to get people to try the crazy handling moves at trials: anything from cash to yummy snacks to adult beverages. Name your price! LOL!!!
>>Course 1
I could lead out beyond 2, complete my fc before she takes off for 2 and rc 3 or blind 3 (need to practice the blind)! Which brings me to a question is it better to lead out between 2-3 and run into the fc or lead beyond 2 ?>>Doing the cue in motion will help you get set up for the next cue. How far you lead out will depend on what you choose for the next cue and how fast you run LOL!! If you do the RC on 3, then lead out almost to 2 but past it doesn’t make sense – you will be too far ahead for a RC on 3. If you do a double cross (FC-BC or BC-BC) – then lead out near 2 – experiment with how close to it you need to be so you can move when you release but not be too far ahead.
>>I had to work out which would be best at 9. I knew with the tunnel I needed strong connection, a German would work but I didn’t like where it put me for 11 etc. The slicing rear was easiest for me.
The RC worked nicely! The German has a lot of running yardage to get to where the RC put you, so while I normally do like Germans, I think the slicing RC was more effective here!
>Trying to sort out the nuances,. Mo mo tight turn on the wedding of 9….. Right turn right after 9
I think right was the one that worked best.
As we use more verbals, she is becoming more responsive to them and it has gotten me into trouble when I am not precise in the one I choose>>That is good that she is responding! The verbals need to be practiced more in the walk through – both so you choose the right ones and so you deliver them appropriately – if mo mo mo is a tight turn verbal, make sure you don’t hollar it LOL!
>>13-14-15 I think you were putting in a little snooker practice. Still need to figure out how to set the line to 15. She has a good tunnel send it only I could direct her.
True confession: 15 was not supposed to be on that side of the tunnel – but by the time I saw the error, lots of folks had already run it. LOL! Sorry not sorry? Normally my course design isn’t that bad LOL!
>>Walking the courses for all of this camp is helping me look at which choices would be best for Tokaji and me. So often I second guess my handling choices because they are not what I see others doing>>
Well… other people have different systems for their individual dogs, and also other people might be choosing things that won’t work for your dog 🙂 Tokaji is like Voodoo – very specific early aggressive handling or things go wrong very quickly. So, it is not surprising that both of us choose handling that is far different than what we see others doing at trials! Don’t let the voice in your head second guess you – only look at what others are doing if they have a dog that is similar and have a handling toolbox that is similar. For example – your slicing RCs are magnificent! Such a strong tool! Mine with Voodoo are NOT as good, he wants to wrap back to me. SO where you would hit a homerun with a slicing RC, I would be doing a forced BC. Different toolboxes, both effective.
Let me know what you think!
TOopsie! I posted it but forgot to click on the all-important “Publish” button. It should be visible now, and here is the link so you don’t need to look for it:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/2vJyDqH-8F5ObJXn02TOW6UtF4PCX6a823UervVZzEq4T5zjX_rqc_AcJSQeIddLHave a great weekend!
TracyGood morning!
>>(I never thought to ask…when I add a link, I have a choice to open a new window. Would that make it easier for you?)
Thanks for asking! I am happy with any of the options – I change how I open/view the videos depending on the device i am on, so any option is fine for me 🙂
I am happy that Course 3 went well! But I admit that now I will have to find another place to use “goat rodeo” in a conversation. Challenge accepted.
Great job on this run!!! I give you a massive cyber socially distant high 5 for your opening – throwback exit of 2 and REALLY NICE blind cross 3-4!
Because in online classes we instructors often spend a lot of time pointing out all the things that can be better (guilty as charged!), I also want to point out the brilliances here at the opening:
Freeze the video at :09 as he is just getting to the entry wing of 2: You are both clearly cuing the #2 jump AND you are also long gone up the line. Then freeze the video at :10 when he is over the bar at 2: You are heading directly to the perfect path for 3-4 and completely trusting his commitment. Gorgeous handling! It was also a challenge to his jumping skills (having you cue and leave that early) and those backside slices are HARD. So, look at where he is jumping #2: tight and clean, not touching the bar or wing. The zigzags are starting to pay off.
Now freeze on :11 as he is lifting off for 3: blind cross completed, reconnection in place, you are on a pretty darned perfect path. You had connected just long enough on your left side to be sure he committed to 3 then started the blind early enough that he could read the next line with no problem.
OK one more freeze on this opening: when he landed from 3 at :12 – note your exit line connection – your eyes on his eyes, your right arm low and back: perfect. It made the line to 4 extra clear so you could just leave for the next line.
I really love your work on this opening!The 5-6-7-8-9 section looked really good too – I think you can push him harder through here, he showed really strong understanding and so you can drive through the backside serp-blind at 7 sooner… which can set you up for a blind cross 9-10. You were already in a really good spot for it, but you probably didn’t feel comfy because you pulled him in for the rear cross at :21. And yay for him finding 9 and NOT the tempting tunnel!
The RC at 10 set off a domino effect – by having tp push up closer to get 11 and support 12 (the tunnel) – you showed big hustle to get to the tunnel exit and it made you a little late getting to the RC on the flat to turn to the poles – that is where he ended up on the back jump of 13. When you re-did that section at the end (:51), you pressured into the RC line much earlier and it set it up really well for him! I bet he can read it if you show the RC pressure before he enters the tunnel even more strongly – he still wanted to exit turning to his left, an a bit more pressure on the line before the entry can help convince him to exit already looking to turn right.
>>IF I could have gotten a tight turn on 18 after a slice, then that might have been the winning line but I was very confident that wouldn’t happen. And if you drift out too far, you miss the lovely straight exit line.
Agree that the tight turn is the winning line, so now challenge accepted on how to get it and NOT end up with a goat rodeo on the ending line 🙂
Looking at the line after the weave poles… the way to get the slice nice and tight on 18 to get the ending line has to do with how you handle 15-16 to set up your next handling. At :35, you rotated towards him on threadle so at :36, he caught up to you on jump 16. You had to RC 17 and that put you behind for 18 (which makes it harder to get the wrap too – the wrap was strong here, but handling the wrap from ahead will allow you to turn your feet sooner so you can cue the turn earlier and head up the ending line sooner.
So 2 ideas for the ending line to get the slice at 18:
When you threadle, keep your feet moving forward up the line rather than rotating towards him. That will keep you further up the line so you can stay ahead 16-17, which puts you ahead for whichever side of 18 you want. Then when you keep moving ahead – as soon as his head turns back to 16 from the threadle: blind cross 🙂 This is a spot where I would use the handling from the skills set of threadle-blind when his head gives you permission.
The other option which sounds crazy but is super effective on a line like this: 3 blinds:
double blind to get the threadle – and when his head turns back to 16, blind #3 to get him on your right for 17.
Then you can wrap from ahead or slice 18 from far enough away that you get a lovely ending line set up – either on your left like you did here, and there is also a possibility of a FC to so the ending line on your right side.Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Time flies, I remember when he was a wee baby puppy!!! Happy birthday, Enzo!!!These are looking good. On the straight lines, remember to start him close enough that he can’t take a tiny stride or patter his front feet before the first jump. But I think the “easy” grids where the toy is ahead and you are ahead are really good. The send to the backside to start the grid – that was harder 🙂 Note how he is doing all sorts of tap dancing with his front feet to sort out how to approach the first bar. So keep this on 3 jumps, low bars, and you can open up the angles a little so it is less sideways on the jumping effort – making that element easier will allow him to think through how to approach the first jump. When he figures that out, the flat angles will be easy. I can’t figure out if he is sorting out how to use his body or sorting out how to grip the footing or both- so try this outdoors on dry grass and see what he does – we should see less pattering on the takeoff side, and more weight shift back. I suggest taking this all out onto dry grass (definitely NOT a wet grass grid!). The ones that are now easy (where he starts facing the grid, not the backside pushes) can go into maintenance mode, which means you cycle them up and down depending on fitness cycles and competition challenges ahead. Right now he is probably in an ‘up’ part of the cycle meaning competition shape (even if he is not competing in live trials) so you can visit the easy grids as a warm up once a week or every two weeks. The harder grid (backside push) is still in the learn stage, so the lower bars/easier angles can be worked on once or twice a week for a couple of reps.
Let me know if that makes sense!!
THi!
He did really well generalizing this concept to several different “obstacle”!! He is ‘leading’ with his head through the turns which will make for really lovely turns on course in the future (note how he turns his head around the item). I do feel your pain about having to hold up the different obstacles that are not freestanding, like the soft crate LOL!
At the end when he was cutting in between you and the soft crate – it was partially because of the length of the obstacle plus the standing (sorta standing) – 2 changes at once. When you went back to being low/kneeling – he was great!
At this stage, based on what we will be adding in the next couple of weeks – prioritize being able to stand. Do that with the obstacle really close to you to minimize cutting in between you and the obstacle. You can start to feed from your hands when he gets the idea too! Standing nice and close to it is the top priority, and if that goes well for 2 or 3 short sessions, you can add a little bit of distance between you and the obstacle – but that is low priority for now 🙂Great job!!!!
Tracy
