[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there!

>>The concept of jackpots…there is little evidence to even support their efficacy, and one study found them detrimental, although, old habits die hard and I still use them…mainly because I get excited and can’t stop! LOL. There is also NO BODY OF EVIDENCE to support positive training methods benefit the human/canine bond…that is crazy! Not because it doesn’t, but because the studies haven’t been done. It leaves a huge hole in the argument against adversives. >>

The fMRI results on dogs we are beginning to see support the positive training methods and also support the concept of jackpots in some ways: we are starting to look past things as being just operant conditioning and more into how the brain lights up 🙂 Jackpots can be done in a such a way that we are achieving helpful results and also in ways that we are conditioning other things (words, postures, expressions) with positive associations, which remain in place even when the food or toys are no longer in the picture. So I guess the more we look at it in terms of respondent conditioning and less in terms of operant conditioning, the more interesting the results get! I can obsess on this stuff all day.

Also, it is entirely possible that the jackpot moments create something in the *trainer* that has not been looked at – dopamine release? A moment of relaxed body language? Change in cortisol? A moment to plan the next rep after seeing a really good one, which leads to better mechanics? This can actually all be read by the dog and have a major impact on the training session – but it has not been looked at or quantified, so we are still squarely in the anecdote realm 🙂

But anecdote is where science gets some good ideas from as a starting point for research, so I say if it is happy-making and not invasive or harmful… let’s do it!

>>But, I can’t believe you went to Rutgers! What department did you work in?

Yes – I was in the music department. Same as dog training, right? LOL!! I lived in Matawan, NJ for about 7 years.

On the video:
The blinds are going pretty well! I have ideas to help you feel like you are moving through the head turns quicker. One is to keep moving through the lines, it will make the head turns feel easier that way – you were stopping, which means you had to get your whole body moving again to get the head turns, which is slow than just turning your head while already in motion. The stopping was also drawing her in off the line like at :11 after the tunnel. The other thing to get the blinds feeling easier/faster on tighter lines is to emphasize your exit line connection – you were starting them nicely at :04, :20, :38, right on time! But you were then using your dog-side arm (left arm) as the reconnection arm – which makes it harder for you to complete the head turn and harder for her to see the new connection (so she was wide). The exit line connection (frizzer in your right arm, presented across your body on your left hip here) will add more quickness to the head turn because you can do it faster and she will see it sooner.
You can get more of a visual here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NTeOIcYLjM

The other blind here at :28, :46, 1:26 can come sooner in terms of starting them, but also be moving down the line to the tunnel entry and not across the bar as much. Moving across the bar of the blind cross jump will send her long over it regardless of timing because the dogs always chase our line – so send her to the jump but be running towards the tunnel entry you want.

The FC here is getting a nice turn because you are rotating earlier but also give exit line connection at :59 YAY!
Your timing was nice and early for the FC at 1:05 back to the tunnel AND your position was great (heading to the tunnel entry) so that was a good turn too 🙂 You were a little late at 1:26 (she was already jumping) so keep working on the timing at 1:05 where you were almost done rotating when she took off.

1:19 had really nice exit line connection – be sure to keep moving so she can drive the next line. She did a great job of reading it and NOT jumping behind you!!

Nice work here! Let me know what you think 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hello and welcome back!
Thanks for posting the runs where she didn’t take the obstacles – those are more helpful than the perfect runs LOL!

Watching the first video where she didn’t take the tunnel on the first rep or the jump after it on the 2nd rep, it looks like a processing thing: It think what is happening here on the bypass moments is that she is trying to sort out how to go fast, see you running, AND still commit. Jump height higher plus slightly shorter distances here plus she is going really fast and you are running all combine to result in a common youngster moment: Go fast! Jump high! But can’t organize herself to commit to all the things so she bypasses them so she doesn’t have to sacrifice the going fast element. Connection from you looked really good overall so I don’t think it was a connection thing.

Video 2 had a similar thing on the first rep where she looked at the pinwheel jump but couldn’t sort it out so went around the outside. Then the 2nd rep looked great (she sorted it out!)

On the 3rd video – Nice first rep and also great toy throw out on the line!
Loved your reward choice on the 2nd rep too – perhaps turning to her left is her stronger side? Perhaps she was more organized here after having gotten a look at the set up because she did really well turning right too on the 3rd rep and 4th rep.

So, a couple of ideas 🙂 I support her in not wanting to slow her down 🙂 but we do want her to be able to process is AND commit to all the things. So on the early reps, you can angle the jump bars so the inside line she will take (on the pinwheel jump, for example) will be easier and also the angled bars will be a more distinct visual for her to think about.
When the bars are full height on the early reps – stay connected like you did but don’t move as fast – speed and blur the processing because it is stimulating. Then if she can commit – swap the elements: lower the bars but add your speed back. If she can do it? Keep your speed and put the bars back to height.

Keep throwing your reward out on the line, especially the hard jumping lines like the pinwheel jump, because that will keep her looking at the lines. This is a pretty normal part of the learning curve, so she will get it sorted out! Her own speed is a distraction and that is why she can’t always figure out how to make the commitments happen 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
He was a good boy in his stay as you turned on the camera, then I guess he ran out of patience LOL! He seemed to be taking the moment you reconnected when you got to your lead out position as the release – so feel free to connect, praise and then release – the cooler weather makes them do crazy things LOL!!!

Timing on the first rep was really good, basically perfect! My only suggestion is to add a GO cue before he goes into the tunnel so he knows how to exit it. Nice connection and timing here!

On the 2nd run, you had really nice timing of the tunnel verbal after the release and also called his name before he entered the tunnel, so he turned really nicely, exiting looking at the correct line at :50 (you had really good connection which also helped a lot). In than moment, you can switch to your collection cue instead of a general jump cue, to help him tighten up the turn.
Excellent exit line connection at :52 back to the tunnel! Made for perfect timing on the tunnel verbal. Because this sequences requires you to face the tunnel to commit him to it after the wrap, this is a great spot for the Go cue just before he enters – that will help him exit straight (he exited looking at you at :54). Nice timing on the jump verbal after the exit!

Great job here!!! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

You and Desmo looked awesome!!!! I am looking forward to videos 🙂 Have fun!

[Tracy Sklenar]

Yay! This is an awesome update!!! Great job to both of you 🙂 So fun to hear that you both ran with joy 🙂

>>My only question is, is there a trick for not breaking connection on a turn? That seems to be one I tend to repeat.>>

Do you mean on a post turn/shoulder turn? I tell myself to keep my arm back and look at the dog landing, then deliver the cue right to the dog’s face 🙂 I remind myself to emphatically tell the dog what I want (and not look forward to the jump and tell the jump LOL!!)

Let me know if that makes sense 🙂

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Good work on all of these!

>>I can see that my arm is still very high at times

I think I only saw it too high on one moment – otherwise they were fine!

>>and my verbals are really late

I find that when focusing on connection with a young dogs, my verbals often go to poo at first 🙂 They will get more natural feeling soon 🙂

On the video:
Overall, you were really emphasizing connections and there were a ton of good connection moments! It think timing is more of what we will chat about here 🙂 She is small, yes – but she seems to drive lines exactly like my big black dog, Voodoo: so much PUSH! I love it! But that also means you will need earlier timing so she can set herself up to turn – she basically needs timing that is the same as a 20″ jumping fast dog. That will challenge her commitment because she has to take more strides (because she is smaller) but I think she can do it! Here are specifics:

Sequence 1: connection was strong overall! The front cross timing was a little late at :04 :12, :24 so she was wide. You were tending to run forward then as she was committing, start the FC – so she couldn’t adjust til she landed. Add in a deceleration while you are moving forward when she exits the tunnel, then before she passes you, you are already rotating. I talk more about this fast-slow-rotate transition in the games posted yesterday – and because she is so drivey, she probably also needs you to add in shifting connection to get the exact turn you want. It will make more sense when you look at the new games from yesterday 🙂 Your regular connection and exit line connection were good here, so now we can play around with timing and connection to set up the tight turn.

Sequence 2, with the wpin to bring her to the other end of the tunnel:
Your spin at :33 was earlier and turn was better! And then at :43 you were even earlier starting it and her turn was even better! Her commitment is looking good with you starting early and your connections were strong. At :54 you started the rotation later and you were also a little too fat past the wing of the spin jump, so she was wider there and adjusted after landing. So far, I like your timing at :43 the best!!

sequence 3 – Your regular connection looks great! Your arm was a little high at 1:27 (this is the one spot I saw it as being too high LOL!) but your motion was good on the line was good and she seemed to have no questions. The serps at 1:08 and 1:19 and 1:29: all fabulous! She read them perfectly: tight slices AND at top speed. Yay!

Seq 4: Once again, your opening line regular connection was great! On the FCs here – they were a bit late at 1:39, 1:52 and 2:19 were a little too much on the landing side of the jump, which draws a wider line so she was a little wider there. At 2:05, the FC was both earlier AND had the verbal – nicer turn for sure!!!
For her, on these FCs (and on the sequence 1 FCs) – lining up more on the takeoff side with the deceleration/transition into them will help tighten up the turns and also make it easier for you to get up the next line. When you move to the landing side, it sets a wider line and makes you a little late in starting the turn.

Seq 5: This one is a doozy 🙂 You can run with empty hands or with a toy in each hand LOL!
First rep – You can give her more regular connection (looking back to her more, instead of ahead to the jump) on the tunnel exit at 2:30: you broke connection a little there amd that created a question so she didn’t commit to the 3 jump.
The FC at 2:41 can be a little sooner and further down the line to the tunnel – but your exit line connection was really good!

2nd rep – You had a big difference in connection after the #2 tunnel and she committed to 3 AND turned nicely! Lovely! The FC at 3:02 to the tunnel can start sooner here as well.

3rd rep – AS she exited the tunnel at 3:12, you were not as connected as on the previous rep, so she asked a question by putting her head down. That got the turn cue at 4 to be a little off balance so it did look a little like at RC at 3:14 (you got there early and turned your feet). You got right back on track and your FC at the end to the tunnel at 3:25 had the best position and timing so far, and strong exit line connection.

Two other options to try on this sequence – you can also try a FC (or blind cross) 3-4 to turn her to her right on 4, which sets a nice easy line from 4 back to 5-6.
And, you can do a blind cross before the last tunnel instead of a FC – that will help you finish the turn quicker and get to the exit line connection, while moving up the line you had at 3:25. That will keep you off her line because you won’t need to rotate, you will just turn and go 🙂

So overall I think you are doing a great job with your connections here and her commitment is looking really good!!!! The next step is to figure out the exact turn cues she needs to both commit AND turn nice and tight – which is perfect timing because that is what I posted yesterday 🙂 I *think* she will be more like my Voodoo (big black dog) in terms of what type of connection she will need, but she will let us know as you work through the games.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning again 🙂

All of your Go reps looked great here, I think he loves the go go go element of the sport 🙂 Yay!
On the RCs – the first RC to the right at :39 looked timely but he turned left – perhaps autopilot from the go reps? Also, it sounded like you were saying left for a few steps but it was hard to hear 🙂 Good reward, though – kind of the “hey we are going this way” reward 🙂 Your cue at 1:01 was timely too, and another good reward – on the “good try, we are going this way” rewards, you can be less exciting and then save your massive excitement for when he nails it like he did at 1:19 and also at 1:36 where he was perfect AND faster (there are no full studies on this yet, but we do see a lot of dogs responding to this type of differential reinforcement 🙂 Hopefully some wealthy university will do a study to support our anecdote :))

Good go balance reps at 1:53and 2:21, he loves the go cues for sure!

YES for the left RC, getting it on the first rep! Adding the tunnel after it was great and also super fun – and if the tunnel was there the whole time, that might be why the RCs to the right were harder even with the very clear cues.

Overall, really nice session, he was doing a great job of driving and reading cues!!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
I was just about to type that the left turn serps looked perfect – then he ran past the jump to the toy LOL!!! I think it had to do with the toy placement – on the first few reps it was more visible on the landing side, then you moved it so it was more visible on the takeoff side – and he to think about exactly how to earn it 🙂 And he did! Good boy.
And it happened again on the right: I was just about to type that they are looking great so you can add more motion – and you did – and he ran past the jump LOL!!! The others looked good.

It is an overall super high rate of success session, plus his form on the slicing in and out (and your cue) all look great – so go ahead and leave the toy where it was (slightly visible on take off side) and also start to add more motion like you did at 1:04 (it was a fast walk). The one thing you can add to help him is more verbal engagement – after the left or right for the cone, you can continue saying the left or right til he orients to the jump (at that point you would switch to the other directional). So when he starts on your left side like on the 2nd half of the video, it would be: right right right right (he is coming towards the jump) left left left good boy 🙂 Or, after the left/right for the cone, it is perfectly fine to just call his name a few times. I use the name call for my odler dogs and with the youngsters I am using left/right directionals.

Tunnel turns:

>> When turning, I was going to have him turn to the toy. He thought he should include the jump. I thought that was ok.

I agree! I don’t think he saw the toy on the first rep, or maybe there was no permission cue so he assumed it was one of our crazy proofing games LOL!! But the right turn does line him up for the jump, so he was correct. Good boy! A wrap verbal would be what you need to convince him to *not* take the jump, but I don’t think we want a young dog to NOT take jumps after the tunnel (there is an entire game devoting to finding the jump after a tunnel here LOL!)

He read the left turn cues on the blue tunnel nicely – as in, turn left and DON’T take the jump. And the left turn on the orange does include the jump. Very cool to see him really reading lines!

>> I thought he would bypass the other blue tunnel as it wasn’t in line but he thought the opposite end of the tunnel was the correct answer. Tried it a second time just to see what he would do and he did the same.>>

I think he was right here too!! He exited the orange tunnel straight with the go cue, which took out the closer end of the blue tunnel. Then, based on your line of motion and the line he was on – the other side of the blue tunnel was correct. If it was a jump bar instead of a tunnel opening, it would be easier to see how it is on the line – the tunnel opening makes it look different because the tunnel turns him away, but the commitment was right on the line so he was correct (plus you were moving that way and saying go go go 🙂 And then the orange tunnel entry was on his go line when he exited the blue, even though the tunnel turns him a bit. If you didn’t want it, you would probably have to turn your shoulders even more and run towards the white wing jump that is out past the red wing he was taking on the left/right turns from the orange tunnel.

These are looking really good! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! These were fun to watch!
She was awesome on the race track to the left!!!! And to the right too! On the tunnel exit to the right turn at :39 and 1:24, try ot make more eye contact with her – you were looking a little ahead so she exitd the tunnel and looked up at you to figure out what you wanted. Plus you were decelerated, so that contributed to her question. On the left turn race tracks, you were moving more and a little more conencted, so she didn’t have questions and could just go fast fast fast 🙂

On the rear crosses –
>>Watching the video I think I need to set the wing out further so she has more room to charge ahead and hence can better read my body.>>

Yes, she is ready for more room and that will give you more time for her to drive ahead so you show the rear cross info on the line.

I think both sessions looked and and were useful 🙂 On the early throws (I affectionately call them ‘lurely’ haha) you were getting a high rate of success for driving ahead and turning the new direction – so it was perfectly fine to do! On that first session, you were a little lat moving into the RC pressure line, so you can start that as soon as she exits the wing and you both begin moving up the line.
I think the early session helped set up success on the evening session, where you were later on the throws so she had to make a decision on the turn: this was also a high success session (yay!!!) and at first, I agree: the turns were not as pretty as the morning session. However… by the last few reps, she was getting it independently and the turns were beginning to match what you had in the first session. Yay!! Rear crosses are hard so I am super happy with how she could read them. On the next session, move the wing further away amd hang out by it like you did here at the end of the evening session – and start your rear cross pressure line a little sooner – it gets tricky for us humans to not cut in too soon, but it should give her earlier info and then she can tighten up her turns. Also, bear in mind that because she is pretty small, we don’t need these rear crosses to be very tight 🙂 The first goal is big extension for the smalls 🙂 The rears for my big puppy were pretty tight turns but we want the smalls to go wider because it actually ends up being tighter 🙂

>> I have comfy but fun leggings on so enjoy

I love it!!!! They look cute and comfy 🙂

Great job!
T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>In general, I want more GO with Differ so she can cover a lot of ground without me supporting her. She’s got enough natural handler’s focus to get turns.>>

I agree with wanting more Go go go and line driving with small dogs! Extension and commitment are the name of the game in her height class – and then we get turns while maintaining extension. The small dog turns so NOT need to look like big dog turns, in terms of weight shift/collection. With the smalls, we try to cue on time and then let them set up what they need to do to get the turn as fast as possible with minimal collection. That is partially because it is faster that way, and partially because they are built really differently than the big dogs so they use their bodies differently. The fastest small dogs out there are NOT the ones with the very tight turns 🙂 they are the ones that know how to get on a line and GO 🙂

You can see this in play on your minny pinny – she is setting up her own turns! Note how on the first rep at :03, she is on the center of the bar on the 3rd jump, looking at the slice line, lands then turns. Now watch that turn percolate – she is efficient so she changes her style: next rep at :06 she turns her head over the bar. Then when you move the camera angle, at :10 she is taking off for jump 3 on the inside of the bend (yes!) and turning her head before takeoff (double yes!). She does it at :15 going the other direction as well. Be a little later on your strike cue, let her land with all 4 feet then cue it – she was sure happy to drive to the toy and dropping her form when you cued it as she was taking off/jumping (she hit the bar on the last one at :33)
Now the next step is to get her to turn her head more to enter the grid – you can accomplish that by starting her on more of an angle, so she is basically lined up on the exit wing and then you send her into the entry wing. Then we let her natural brilliance and efficiency work its magic LOL! If you see her turn her head as she approaches the entry wing, you can mark it (quiet yes marker, I am sure you have something like that you can use) and then reward at the end with strike cue.
Also, nice job getting your reward in low because it keeps her head low. I think she is doing a great job sorting out the turns here!!!

Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
The technical difficulties were no trouble at all – it was only a few seconds but I know how slowly time moves when the tech is not cooperating 🙂 Zoom was relatively well-behaved yesterday LOL!!

I think that Kai did well in class yesterday but I agree that he was not his usual self. Usually, with the young boys, hormones are not an issue at 6 months (plus there are no girls in season around, right?) It is more likely that his molars are setting so he might be a little painful in the mouth? Or he is having a growth spurt, which can make pups sleepy or sore, or distracted…. Or even a slightly upset belly can be the cause.
You are handling it fine – lots of rewards short sessions, etc. Give him a couple of days off, with no training, and see how he bounces back. And if he is still a little not himself, you can head to the vet and see if they find something? Keep me posted, let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi1 I bet going back to school has been hard! Hopefully it is going pretty smoothly, New York is leading the nation in making good decisions from what we see from the outside.

She did well here! I think the set up, visually, can be swapped to make it clearer for her: the single upright can be the post you send her around, and the 2 wings can be the ‘jump’. And between the 2 wings, you can lay a pool noodle or a jump bump on the ground for her to lock on to – that can help her see it as you are moving. You can help her by moving the manners minder to more where she can see it coming over the bump – she is young so we can help 🙂

As far as which games to do: I like the wind in your hair game for her, where she starts by learning to find the jump and then she learns to run to it (again, just a pool noodle or jump bump for now, no need for a bar). And has she learned a tunnel? If so, you can start the smiley face games 🙂 If she hasn’t learned a tunnel yet – let’s teach her a tunnel, I think she will enjoy that 🙂

Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! It is fun to see your videos! Thanks for coming to all the live classes 🙂
The dogs are all doing really well! I am impressed with your stamina, running with 3 dogs (plus the pup!)
You’ll find themes with each dog, but in general: your ‘regular’ connection looks great and you are really emphasizing your exit line connection, which is really helping them!! My ideas/suggestions are focused on other details because your connection was generally spot on 🙂

Dash: Great job on the connections with him!
Course 1: great exit line connection on the front cross! You can start the FC sooner: as he is landing from 1 and looking towards 2, decelerate then before he passes you, start the turn. The goal is to be finished and showing exit line connection before he takes off. The timing of your FC on the 2nd sequence was earlier, you showed very clear exit line connection, and his turn was great!
The 3rd sequence had the spin: your connections all looked good but you can totally start this one sooner too – as he lands from the previous jump, keep moving forward but decelerate so then you can rotate as he passes you.
The earlier cues will challenge his commitment, but that is why we are here 🙂 If you stay connected like you were, and you decelerate into the rotations rather than slam on the brakes, I think he will do a great job 🙂

Lily (first video) Your regular connection and exit line connection on the first sequence both looked great! You can cue sooner but decelerating and rotating before she passes you. And, for the tightest possible turn, stay closer to the wing on this FC as you turn and exit – you were running on a path closer to the tunnel, so she went a little wide chasing your path.
Course 2 – once again, lovely connection!!! You are rocking the exit line connection! As with the first sequence – try to be earlier on the FC so you are rotating as she is passing you. On the 3rd sequence – the spin can come sooner 🙂 I sense a theme here! On your spins, you tend to wait til the dogs are in the air and then spin, but we can move up the timing on those: as long as you move forward and decelerate while you are moving forward, I bet they will commit when you start the rotation just before the pass you.

Lily video 2: You are doing a great job with your ‘regular’ connections here! I think the front cross can be a bit sooner, but you can also exaggerate the exit line connection here. This was the only time where it was not as clear (at least not compared to the others, which were perfect :)) So she was a little wider on the exit of the turn.

Pearl: Also nice connections with her! O nthe first sequence, you can be earlier on the front cross and, like with Lily, stay closer to the line of the wing to set the tightest possible line.

Now you are going to chuckle: your timing on the 2nd sequence with her (front cross) was my favorite timing of yours on these videos! She committed! She was turning tight! But she back jumped. Hmmmm…. LOL! I think that is more of a training thing than a handling thing: Connection and timing both looked *lovely* so we need to convince her to come around the wing independently and not back jump. You can start that by embedding just the wing in the sequence rather than the full jump – it is easier to wrap the wing when you are on time like this, and harder to back jump. And then you can use this timing and reward on the exit line when she comes around the correct side of the wing.
On the 3rd sequence, you were late on the spin, maybe helping her to not back jump. Understandable! But it makes for a wide turn and she slows down. So I think we can work on getting her to finish the wrap of the wing and not back jump when you cue early and leave, so you can be on time. Embedding the wing into the course is the first thing I suggest, then throwing a reward back to her as you run away and she exits the wing wrap will help too!
Great job on these! Let me know if my ideas make sense 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>“To make that feel more comfy, you can kind of anticipate the timing: when Juno is lifting off, you can start the next cue because you know that landing will happen right after liftoff” because I tend to cue on commitment vs them landing the obstacle because that seems REALLY late to me. I’ve done a lot of OMD stuff and if I understood their 3 c’s (Connect, commit, cue) correctly in that order, then what you said above makes more sense. >>

I think as the sport has evolved (or at least as our understanding has evolved :)) I realize that if we commit and *then* cue…. we will be late. Connection is actually a commitment cue – so we use connection to both commit AND cue the dog – plus using good connection allows us to be as early as the dog will let us be. Juno will let you be pretty early, plus we train for the dogs to understand the cues from way back (and, also, a TON of verbals 🙂 and I think most or all of the OMD people in the US now use a ton of verbals as well)

I think of it as a turn cue or an obstacle cue as a hamburger of info, delivered as a unit when the dog needs it: the entire hamburger which includes bun, meat, lettuce, tomato – however the individual likes it 🙂 Back a few years ago, when we were trying to connect then commit then cue, it was like giving you a hamburger in parts: the bun then the burger then the lettuce then the tomato (then the fries lol). The dogs much prefer getting as much info as possible at the same time, rather than in bits 🙂

So the connection and motion the dog is seeing implies commitment – and if they don’t understand it naturally, we can totally train it.

>>When I was doing this exercise I was thinking it was more about awareness of where your dog is vs waiting for that moment to cue?>>

100% correct! We cannot cue at a specific moment if we do not know where the dog is. If you can see Juno, then you can easily get the timing 🙂

Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Yay for videos! Dottie did a great job here! I think she is a total lefty on this set up – her left turns seemed more organized and independent even from the harder angles. Her right turns got more and more organized as they went along.
One thing I notice is that she was bending nicely on the 1st and 2nd bar, but looking up on the 3rd bar – because cookies and momma haha 🙂 So you can use you reward placement to kee her bending. For example, if she is turning to her right, you can have the cookie in her left hand and draw her across your feet to continue turning, in order to get it. And vice versa – when she is turning to her left, the cookie can be presented from your right to keep her turning. You did this on the very firt rep, so keep doing that and present it nice and early so she keeps turning to it.
The turn away reps were DEFINITELY hard LOL!!! My dogs looked at me like I was nuts, just like she was doing here haha! You can totally help her at first with a bigger hand cue – start with left turn away on this, I think it is her easier side, and it might help get the concept more comfy. But the hand cue and a little leg step will also totally help and they are pretty easy to fade out.

>>After I watched it I saw a few things I should do differently but then you wouldn’t have anything to write (haha).>>

What else did you see that you would do differently? I am interested to hear your thoughts!
Nice work!
Tracy

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