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Ha! I understand about the shoe. With Elektra, I used an old sun hat that I never wore. It can even be a random box, anything that is easy to carry.
Good morning!
>> I have often used the off side arm on a Serp, but only when I’m ahead of the dog and want to be sure they know to come in over the jump.>>
Yes, in the rare moments when I am way ahead 🙂 I might put up the off side arm to help guarantee it because it adds that extra bit of chest rotation. The dogs just roll their eyes at me because they understand their job LOL!
>>>On the Rocking Horse set, I realized I was pushing her and giving all the “go on” signals that I shouldn’t have. Yes, not only is she honest, she’s keeping me honest. 😊. I still may try a switch of barrel location to see if the equipment makes any difference to her. So interesting to see what does and does not click for different pups.>>
Perfect! Sounds good!!!
>>On the pinwheel, I wondered if narrowing the gaps would help her bounce, so we’ll give that a go.
Keep me posted on how she does with that!
T
Hi there!
These were fun to analyze, so much good stuff!Lit’l Bit:
I like the way you executed rep 1 and rep 2, but I think the blind cross 3-4 at :25 really drove her! On the first rep 4-5, I think you can get more speed if you run into the tunnel so you are almost behind and out of position, I think she likes chasing you like that. When I timed that section, the wrap to the inside was about 3/10ths faster. That can be a product of more speed because of the blind, plus the shorter distance. It is possible that the slice line can end up faster if you push her harder but it was cool to see the wrap and shorter distance be so fast!!! She wraps really well so the wrap to shorter distance is something to look for on her courses for sure.Seq 3:
On the first rep, it as a good blind at :42 but it looks like you were maybe one step off the line so she read it as a backside. I think the blind is a great option there, so one step further over should get it. The rear cross looked good but probably not as fast as the blind would be. When I compared the RC to the outside line to the wrap to the inside line… as with the first sequence, wrap to the inside (shorter) line was about 3/10ths faster – at least she is consistent LOL!! That is good to know, because in this scenario, it was probably easier handling too! It doesn’t always work out that the easier handling is also the fastest line, but it is certainly great when it does work out like that 🙂Wilder’s turn: Seq 1:
On the slice reps, I liked how you drove him 3-4 on the first rep, it was really nice! You helped more on the 2nd rep and it caused him to look at you. But, speaking of helping: on the first rep you got ahead on the way to the tunnel and he pulled the bar. You waited for him as he rounded the wing of 4 and had more connection on the way back to the tunnel on the 2nd rep – and nice jumping, no bar. So that definitely goes in the plan: wait for him on those big lines so you are 10 feet ahead or less and can show connection strongly.
When I compared the timing of the slice to the outside versus the wrap to the inside – the slice to the outside was faster (opposite of Bit!). When you wrapped to the inside, you held onto him longer – is that a post where he might back jump if you left early like you did with Bit? That was where the time was lost, the wrap might be as faster or faster than the slice if you can leave and not hold onto him. But… if he needs the help to NOT back jump, it is better to slice 🙂 I think I heard you say something about getting out of there on the video, maybe that is what you meant 🙂 He turned really nicely on the jump so it is worth it to see if he will continue around if you move out of it sooner.Seq 3 : looking at the #5 bar, the time he dropped it on the video was when you sent to 4 and left, so he went into chase-da-momma mode. On the next rep (FC) and the rep after it (RC), you waited longer til he was around the wing of 5 and he had no trouble jumping it (and lots of speed). So that is a biggie for him – waiting for a heartbeat before moving up the next line.
Comparing the handling choices – the FC was in a good spot and he did not look at the backside of 4 at all 🙂 You can probably also try a blind there with him, it might be easier/faster than the FC? Or the FC might be the most connected, which he might find helpful with the bar on 3. Definitely worth playing with it because the FC was the fastest option – but not by much 🙂 the wrap to the inside was the 2nd fastest – and can be faster if you can leave sooner and trust him not to back jump (if you think he will back jump so you can’t leave sooner, the choice would be the FC to the slice :)) The RC to the slice to the outside looked really good, but was the slowest of the 3 options. Now, they were all within a couple of ticks (maybe 3/10ths total) so they were almost all as fast as each other – it becomes a matter of choosing the one that helps support the jumping without slowing him down.Great job on these! The hardest part for you is that Lit’l Bit and Wilder are pretty different – for example, on these, Bit is wrap to the inside and run run run. Wilder is slice to the outside, wait for a heartbeat, then go. I keep lists of each dogs’ needs when I am running more than one dog – it is too much of a brain fog for me to keep it all straight without writing it down. I review the lists before training and trialing (the lists are on my phone :))
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I like the let’s balance the ball on the back while we spin truck, going to have to see if I can train that.>
I was confused by this til I saw the video – holy cow! Hysterical!!! Totally train it then onwards to America’s Got Talent LOL!!!
Cody did well here, both on the ‘regular’ reps and the ones that started with the backsides. I am impressed by his ability to execute this because it is probably one of the hardest jumping exercises that I know of – and he is a big dude! He is double tapping his front feet on some of the intervals, which means he is still trying to figure out how to get organized and use his hind end. So an idea – The next time you play with this, start with the angles a couple of inches ‘open’ so he can bounce each interval. Then on each rep, make the interval one inch tighter (ideally he continues to bounce and not double tap). The goal is that he can bounce even when the grid is straight, and started with a rep that is open can help remind him and then each rep will be slightly harder. If he starts to double tap, you can open up that interval by an inch, as it might take more than one session to get the grid back to flat.
And bonus points if he can balance the ball on his back while doing it LOL!!!
Great job!!!! Hope you enjoy the holiday weekend!!
TracyYESSS! Good boy 🙂 He looks so serious up there on his cot! I love it! Great job here! The serps look good too. You might already be doing this – be sure to go back and reward him on the cot too 🙂 I think you can start adding in the motion and also using the station for the other games where the stay makes life easier 🙂 Nice work!
TracyHi! I can’t get the share to download, is there a way to put the clip on YouTube or Vimeo? My iCloud doesn’t want to talk to your iCloud LOL!
>>There is time she want to offer to do it without me asking her. Is there a way to make sure she works with me instead of doing it without my verbal ?>>
If she is sending herself back around, you can reward the wrap, then break off for a tug, reset (you can hold her collar as you reset)… then send again 🙂 I am a big fan of resetting and rewarding for NOT going 🙂 I play a ready game near the wing – I say ready and reward the pup for looking at me – and then after the reward, I might say ready again (and reward again) or send to the wing. That helps get rid of the self-sending 🙂
Let me know if that makes sense 🙂Tracy
Hi! And congrats back to you on your great runs and your Gold Medal!!!! So cool!!! I was exhausted only running Speedstakes, I can only imagine how exhausted your crew was doing all those classes and all 3 days. And you got in puppy training time? You are my hero!!!!! I will send my pups to you for training LOL!
On the videos:
You mentioned noticing HERE as a crutch on your videos… I noticed on my videos that I random spew out some verbals with Voodoo too LOL!!! The Papillons only really know their names and GO and tunnel, but Voodoo has all of these ‘words’ and yet sometimes I would ask myself why I wasn’t using them in the heat of the moment LOL!!!!! We will do better with our youngsters for sure 🙂On the tunnel threadle: you were being good about the correct verbal 🙂 You did get a little far from the tunnel entry for when you were standing still, so you can stay in motion – but when you are moving, be moving straight forward and try not to use your threadle arm or feet to turn him to the tunnel entry. Stay on a parallel line to the tunnel entry until he turns his head to it. Your threadle arm can be towards him, your feet facing forward – you were wanting to point your arm and feet to the tunnel entry. He is doing really well, so I think you can just walk straight parallel to the entry and let him find it himself (and then you can turn and party :))
Turn aways – very clever to use a disc as cookie holder! The turn aways for the lap turns really good – he was “helping” in that he didn’t need a lot of help to turn away, so you didn’t need to do a big motion and you could do a quick hand flick – but he was also *not* turning away until you cued it, which was perfect. Yay! And he did well hitting the prop afterwards too! On the tandem turns, these were a little harder – you can slow the hand movement down so he can follow it and not jump up as much. He got better and better on these and also was seeing the difference between driving to your hands versus going to the prop. Nice!! Definitely looking good!
Get out: First, about the tugging… do you think his toy drive is pretty strong in that he will generally engage with a fun toy, in different places? If so, yes to adding a bit of impulse control. If not… let him be a bit wild but we can change the mechanics of it so you don’t get pummeled.
And yes, the start line game is a little about the start line and a LOT about getting the optimal state of arousal 🙂
Have you done any shaping games with a tug as a reward? Such as the oldie-but-goodie getting in a box – but click/tug instead of click/treat? That is a good way to begin getting self-control on the toy without adding conflict or pressure. I do a lot of that, along with tug-sit-tug (or, tug- don’t pummel me – tug) and also tug-hand touch- tug.
On the video – get out with a cookie with you moving looks terrific! You can repeat the verbal (get out get out get out for example) to help support the distance as you are adding more distance and motion.
With the toy: I notice you are more ‘hands on’ with the toy (like at :59) so you might want to touch him less with the toy as the touching/rib smack is stimulating (not in a bad way, but a little too much for now along with the toy). So when the toy comes out, you can go into Ultra Team Chill. I am on that team with Contraband because he finds tugging really stimulating too 🙂
I think the toy thing will be easy to channel into play without pummeling – I would start with tricks/shaping/hand touches with the toy as reward and it will really help transfer the skills.Rocking Horses:
These look good! You are not making them harder at all, I think they were great! And he was definitely stimulated by the toy but made excellent choices of the non-pummeling variety 🙂 timing looked good, commitment looked super good too! Happy dance! My only suggestion is to make a little more connection to his eyes on the FC exits. You had better connection on the spin exits than on the FC exits. Turn and Burn looked great on all of them! I think you can definitely move to the race tracks now 🙂Minny Pinny:
He did really well on the wings – leading with his head and bending nicely in both directions
from what I could see (maybe a little better to his right than his left?) it was fine to add the bumps/bars in. Don’t worry about the ticking – I think he was trying to multitask on a lot of things: the bending, your motion, the reinforcement, etc. So for the next session, take out some of the stuff to multitask: just send him through without you moving, and for the first couple of go-rounds, try to drop the reward in between the uprights/bars so that he is looking at them more and less at you. Try a session like that and then let him process – then the session *after* that will probably be easier so you can add back your motion (he doesn’t need your motion to help him because you’ve done a lovely job teaching him how to commit independently :))
And you can add in your left/right verbal on the next session, he looks ready to hear the words attached to the behavior 🙂And yay for success on the serps/threadles with motion (boo on phone batteries LOL!!)
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I agree that there was much to be happy with about your day 🙂 And I saw River’s videos, she looked awesome too!
I have found that, oddly enough, it is totally normal for toy driven dogs to not want to/be able to play in the trial environment at first. And, they often prefer something like cheese (when food is really NOT normally a high value thing, right?) No worries, we just go with the flow haha! And it sounds like you did that. My Voodoo (big black BC-ish dog) is VERY similar to Lennan. He was a toy-driven dog at Lennan’s age and would generally spit out food (his was 6 years ago and I was not yet all that good at building food drive – I have improved LOL!). But then when he was ringside in those earlier trial/pre-trial days, he simply couldn’t tug and was all about cheese. Huh? I was fine with that because I was happy to see some food drive! It all evens out, and now he is happy to play with toys, eat food, etc. Lennan is on a similar path but also Lennan has a better foundation.
I think that the pandemic has made some of the dogs think harder about being in groups of people or dogs – almost like it is a skill that needed to be maintained and got “rusty” in the craziness of 2020. It sounds like you are doing all the right things by being on Team Chill, allowing him to find his way in that environment, no pressure! And he is then relaxing and doing beautifully (even chilling beside you in a down, and also not losing his head at all with the motion near the ring – yessss!).
And good for you for sticking with your plan to just go in one time. Things go badly very quickly when we humans get greedy when things are going well. Ha! I am really excited for the future of Team Lennan and I hope there are more of these matches in your area soon!
T
Yay for nice weather!
>>Through various classes we have taken, she has had her fill of going in circles. It’s almost like she gets on a treadmill and plods along on automatic. I can make it more fun by moving off, using a flirt, throwing a ball, etc., but I thought the idea here was to have them focus on the direction and their stepping.>>
I see what you mean! She was definitely auto-wrapping. Her form was not bad at all on the 3 wings, but we really don’t want her to send herself back around LOL! So get a good rep, reward as you did, break it off to throw a toy (or reset on your other side), then do another rep. You can also reward with a toy in position.
On the wings: her form was good and she was leading from her head on both sides while also bending her body. Yay! I thought the reps where you treated using your outside arm were picture perfect! On the reps where you treated with the dog side arm, she was not as fast or bendy… but that might have more to do with her being a little tired or a little bored 🙂 You can try to start with rewards from the dog-side arm at the very beginning of the next session and see if she still lines up as beautifully as she did at the beginning of this session. The main thing about treating with dog side arm is that it does close your shoulder forward a bit so she might not get as good a view of connection.
When you added the bars: she definitely has the idea and is ready for more. Because this also develops into a jumping exercise, we don’t want her to send herself into it – so definitely reward then break it off and reset her so she starts when you are ready and she can come in with more power (when she sends herself, she is trotting which is fine for the 3 wings but we are going to change it now that the bars are in place).
When you revisit this with the bars, angle the outer wings in a little closer so that the center of your bars are maybe 3 feet apart (you can see how I angled it with my smaller puppy on the video – you don’t need to angle it that much because Keiko is bigger, but a little angle will help for now) – then send her around it. We are now going to try to get her to ‘bounce’ rather than trot to develop a bit of bending jumping form. As soon as she gets the idea and can bounce with the bars angled in tighter, we can angle them back out slowly to maintain the form while adding distance. My big adult dogs can do this with a 6 foot distance between the center of the bars. My large puppy was bouncing at 4 feet, I think it was (I think he is an inch or two taller than Keiko). We will see where we can get the bouncing and spread them out from there.
Let me know if that makes sense!
Oh and before I forget – you can totally add your left and right verbals here 🙂 She is ready! Great job!
TracyHi! Good question! That style of reinforcing has to do with how I make connection on the exit of a front cross or blind cross – with my dog-side arm back and looking across my body. It helps the dogs very clearly see exactly where to be, so they can set up really tight turns and drive right in while I stay connected. So what you are seeing on the video is my habit of reinforcing like that, partially to keep the pups on a nice tight line and partially to maintain my habit of staying connected. I have found that on this game, it helps keep the pups nicely lined up. When we reward using the dog side arm and the pup next to us, their butts often drift out and away, which is not really ideal. Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
THi!!
This is also going well! She is showing really strong commitment and a good balance of speed/responsiveness to turn cues. Yay!
I love that she did so well with the ‘daddy distraction’ – that is a hard one!
All of her “turn and burn” finishes looked great – nice and tight, strong commitment, and lots of speed. Nice! Commitment to the tunnel also looked good and that helped add lots of speed too.>> It was funny – unless I slowed and did a FC at the tunnel and barrel end, Keiko just figured that was the end on which she was supposed to run full bore & away!
I see what you mean, like at :25 and 1:27. I think a couple of things caused her to go wider on those – you were pushing for more speed (you told her to move it as she got into the tunnel at :25 LOL!) then you drove harder to the barrel (more of an acceleration cue) and you said high energy “go” before you said around… so that combined to produce more GO and less turn 🙂 At the end of that rep, at :30, you said Go on the jump wing and she was a little wide there too (even though I think the actual wing produces a tighter turn, naturally, than the barrel does because the barrel is a bigger footprint). On the reps where she was tighter, you had more decelerations and more ‘around’ (less ‘go’) which really helped her read it as a tight turn. She is a very honest young lady 🙂 So when you revisit it, remember to connect as she exits the tunnel then decelerate into your around cue – I think that will get lovely high turns.
Nice work!!
TracyInteresting… I plan to do this again, and I’m going to switch the wing and barrel locations to see if that makes any difference. She did have fun! I especially liked this for some of our distraction training. The biggest distraction for her – over birds, squirrels, noises in the neighborhood, etc – is my husband. She loves him and goes bananas when he comes out to watch her. So, we’ve been having him come out more often and she did pretty well today.
Good morning! This is going really nicely, she is having no trouble with committing to the exit while you stay in motion (and it helps drive her around the exit). She had one miss where she didn’t commit but I think it was more about getting distracted and looking away (rather than lack of understanding) – you repeated that challenge of releasing when you were pretty far ahead on the last rep and she did it. So, to help keep it exiting so she doesn’t want to look away – you can move to jogging around the jump. Sometimes jog all the way around and reward her for holding the stay, sometimes release her as you are passing the exit wing/barrel. And, you can execute a blind cross on the exit on some of the reps at this stage (it will likely not be a problem for her) – so if you start on your left, you can keep her on your left for some of the reps (like you did here) or change sides after you release her and pick her up on your right. The side changes add challenge because she will see you ‘disconnecting’ to do this blind, and it challenges her to maintain commitment.
And yes, it is totally normal that one side is easier than the other – and it will all even out as she matures and gets more experienced 🙂
>>I’m not quite sure I see how this becomes a serpentine, but I have seen throughout this course that your beginning exercises do lead to something more involved, and the baby steps are excellent building blocks. >>
There is always a long range goal haha!! This builds into either a ‘regular’ front side serp where you have to do a wrap on the exit (or push through to a backside on the net jump), or a backside slice with a wrap exit – such as a backside serp with a wrap exit and, if you do a blind cross: a German turn. I think you mentioned having OMD techniques in your handling (am I remembering that correctly?) and the ideal German turn (and related lines) is that you can be on the takeoff side as the dog comes around the entry wing, so you are out of the way and up the new line sooner. The main difference because how I train it/handle it is that OMD often uses a cross arm on serps (or at least they did, last time I checked) and I just prefer to train commitment as a default so I can just run and don’t need to add the serp arm, if that makes sense.
Nice job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Great job on the Canada Open, especially your Gold Medal!!!!!!! It was so cool to run the Speedstakes courses knowing you were also there running them!
About the verbals: I guess it depends on how you define them 🙂 my left and right are all about telling the dog to turn to HIS left or right, my position is not relevant. I use them to name the turn I would like, regardless of my handling so my dogs will hear the left or right on post turns, fronts, blinds, or rears (the handling is for me, the verbal is for them:))
If that is the same definition you’re using, then you can use the left and right for any situation where you want that line (I don’t have separate rear cross cues).If right and left are defined as being specific to turning away/rear cross, that is also good!! It means you will need to consider a left or right cue meaning turn towards you too.
Let me know if that makes sense 🙂 I’ll head over to your videos soon, we are having a power outage here for some reason so I’m typing this on my phone.
THi and welcome! The random object is so we can practicing training mechanics, building value, and handling concepts on an item that doesn’t matter in the long term for sports 🙂 that way we can take our time and sort out any issues. Then we transfer it to a wing or jump later on, and the concept is easy and the rate of success if very high.
Also, the foot target to a prop is much easier on the pup’s body than repeated wrapping is, so we are able to teach the same concepts without risking over-doing things with their bodies.
And, we can separate the wing wrapping and work on it separately, so it becomes really strong too. Then it all gets married together when the pups are older.
When choosing a prop, choose something that doesn’t look like a mat. With Contraband, I use a shoe 🙂 it can be anything 🙂
Hope that helps!
Tracy
