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Hi Colleen! I am excited to see you here!!!! Eden is beautiful – I really love Viszlas, I can see myself with one someday. And we can definitely work on pumping her up! Have fun!
TracyHello and welcome!!!! You might find that some of these have some review elements especially in this first wekk, so I will give you tweaks to make it harder and more advanced where needed 🙂
That photo made me SNORT!!!!!! Ha! So cute!!!
Hellooooooo brother (and da momma of course!!) It will be fun to train them together!!!!!!! And I love the photo!
See ya sooN!
TracyHello and welcome!!!!! We are gonna have some BIG fun! Sly is amazing <3 and I am excited to see more from him!
About the photo for the profile, here is how:
Our website software pulls profile images from a popular profile image service called Gravatar. You can create an account at Gravatar.com using the same email address that you use on agility-u.com. Then follow these instructions to upload your profile photo over on Gravatar: https://en.gravatar.com/support/activating-your-account/See you soon!
TracyHi!
>> I know with some coaching that I’ll be able to adjust my handling to what he needs. He’s still jumping long, so I must be screwing up the decal cues.>>
Yes, you will adjust – it is 1000% normal that our handling is NOT timely with our young dogs… there is a lot of rhythm and anticipation in timing in order for us to be on time. It takes a while to get there with each new dog. You are there with Pixey, and now we have to build it again from scratch with Riot. I have my timing in place with my 7 year old dog… had to re-learn timing for my just-turned 2-year old and I am looking forward to relearning it yet again with my 2 puppies LOL!
The other thing is that there are trained skills that go into good timing as well – reactions that the trained dogs make instantly and the youngsters need to process for longer. Experienced dogs can react at the very beginning of a cue – younger dogs generally need to see the whole cue before they react which is why we always feel so late with youngsters. So it is also normal that you could give the most perfect possible cue and he will still jump long, because he is still learning and processing – no worries! Yes, some things in agility are very natural and when we get it right, the young dogs automatically get it right. But most things are NOT natural (I beg to differ with the handling methods that say that everything is natural if we get it right LOL!) so the training percolates for a while – then it all comes together.
>>There were some real trouble spots and some flashes of brilliance and only a brief Sheltie drive by, so I am overall pretty pleased with the little guy.
Sounds like a great session! He did well here!
Opening – On the first rep, give a little more connection needed 2-3 and keeping moving a little more there to support the line. On 7, you can rotate sooner and do the blind sooner and reconnect on the blind at :18.
On the 2nd rep, you were trying to rotate sooner but slammed on the brakes (plus put the toy hand in front of him) so he didn’t commit – he needs a step forward where you are decelerated then you turn and run. All part of the learning curve with young dogs.
Then when you re-sent him at :46, you were sideways and then stepped forward with your right leg (towards the straight tunnel) so he was correct to switch to a RC there. Compare it to the fix at :50 where you were forward-facing for one little step then rotated to 8 and he got it.Almost got the BC 9-10 in at :22! You started it maybe only a stride late but he needs exit line connection there (also this is a spot where a more experienced dog would react sooner, he is still processing).
I like how you kept him moving at the end of that first rep there!
He was able to read the BC 9-10 at 1:00 – you were quick to reconnect and held the connection so he could change side – this is a perfect place to play with the exit line connection (and reward) to get him to react more quickly to the beginning of the blind cue (where you turn your head).
I really loved his ending line there on the 2nd time through! Nice send to 11 and nice blind 12-13! You can use more exit line connection on that blind too, to show the line even more. I like to exaggerate that with youngsters.
Course 2:
Nice opening 1-2-3 on the first rep!
When he landed from 3 at 1:14, you didn’t connection to him, so he stayed on his lead – finding 4 is a serp so he needed more eye contact there. Exaggerate it, have your left arm back and really look right at him – you were a little clearer at 1:26 but he almost didn’t take it – so a more exaggerated, extreme connection helps with youngsters and serpentines.The 4-5-6 line looked good, really hard to read turn cues when there are CUTE SHELTIES right there LOL! Good job rewarding him for coming right back.
You did really nicely with the cues for the wrap on 6 at 1:51 – he did a great job ignoring the shelties! He will get better and better at the wraps but this particular one was brilliant because he got the turn and ignored the other dogs.When you revisisted 3-4-5 at 2:05, you had a clearer connection so he turned to 4 much sooner. 2:16 was the clearest, I think I saw a bit of exit line connection: but the trick is to keep running LOL! You were being careful and he turned so well that he almost took you out, plus you were not able to get the blind on landing of 5.
At 2:28 you had GREAT connection! But you stopped – no stopping allowed on serps LOL! You hustled and did get the blind in (a little late, but he is learning quick responses so he was able to read it! Yay!) You were a little late on the wrap cue on 6but he read it as soon as he saw it and ignored all shelties lolOn the ending line – great job with connection, verbals and line on the 7-8 section!!! You were perhaps a little too early with your decel into the wrap at 9 on both reps through there? He needed one more step forward. I know, I know, it is like Goldilocks and the porridge: too hot, too cold, too soon, too late hahaha! But You were connected and supported him, and he got it! It will get easier for you to know how to get it just right with some more practice! I liked the handling choice at the end of the spin to handle 10-11 on your right.
Great job on these – they are challenging courses (even though they are called “novice” :)) and I think you and he are doing a great job of breaking them down and sorting it all out!!!!
Tracy
Yes! Address it! And… you are really good with blinds so maybe play with double blinds? Those are also a great way to get a threadle while continuing to move up course!!! Hmmm, maybe I will put them into the next package 🙂
Hi! I think lake and Hamilton are excellent priorities 🙂 The heat is a pain indeed!!!
The tunnel reps looked great! I play them in slow motion to see where she is looking on the tunnel exit before she can see you or the toy throw (she is too fast to see it in ‘real time’ LOL)
All of the turn cues: wrap, left/right, rear crosses: perfect! The RUN cue is hardest – on the first one you were accelerating and got the toy throw in early, so she exited straight. At :17, you were not moving as much and the toy throw was a little later, so she exited turning towards you. So, remember to show explosive motion forward (even if it is just leaning in as your knee recovers) before she enters to maintain the drive forward.Sequence 1 – OMG you did indeed have to duck under a tree! We will blame that for her pulling off the last jump or dropping a rail there… please don’t give yourself a concussion on the tree branch! You had an excellent duck-under-the-branch and support the last jump on the last rep here LOL!
Yes, the BC is pretty easy on this one thanks to the great tunnel send. In fact, you can do the BC even sooner on this particular sequence: you can do it as she is entering and in the tunnel, so it is done before she exits – your motion and re-connection will support 3, so you don’t have to wait til she exits (on this particular type of sequence). On these reps, you were connected on the original side until she exited the tunnel and then did the blind – which is theoretically perfect timing but we can get away with “pre-perfect” timing (my new favorite term) on lines where motion and new connection support it – you will then feel like you have more than a half an hour for the blinds, more like 45 minutes or so haha
Connection and line looked great here!
Sequence 2:
You totally showed a clearer transition 3-4 here – it probably felt a little awkward to exaggerate it, hence the jerky feeling, but she was able to prduce a good turn at :03 and :16 – note how she is collected for a tight wrap before takeoff (especially on the 2nd rep) and not having to land-then-turn.
She dropped the bar on 5 on the first rep – you were ahead, she went into chase mode and you changed your motion (decelerated) so she pulled the rail. On the second rep, you had accelerated motion all the way through and she had no problem there. So – proof that change of motion 🙂 and pay her for not touching the bar. Yes, staying in acceleration was definitely better! But that little change of motion/decel was not so tragic haha! So, it is a good proofing moment for a youngster for sure, to look at the bar and not touch it even if we change something. I thought your line was good!seq 3:
Yes, I think you were past the line at :04 especially because you were not too far past the wing of 2. When you were past the line but also further ahead at :21, it set the line better because she is seeing your position and forward motion better too!For the wrap at 5 – it is hard to get there but you can handle it without getting there – be running towards the line 4-5-6 but when she exits the tunnel, start the transition from wherever you are in that moment (try to anticipate when she will exit the tunnel so you are ready for it). I thought you did a really good job at :07 getting it all prepared for her!
At :25, I think you were over-helping and it got you into trouble – you ran to a v-set position where your hands were almost center of the bar so she shaped her line around you – but then you are trapped there behind the wing. You felt the urgency of having to get outta there, but the send and leave broke connection before she passed you, so she ended up on your other side at :26 – you would have to stay there, connected on your left side, for another step or two to get tunnel commitment and then the BC on the next line becomes impossible. You can do a RC, but then you are behind for whatever is after it on a bigger course.
At :30 you were a little more outside the wing and it was good – but you had to do the RC (which was doubly great in that she found the line AND you didn’t run into the tree :))So for the wrap at 5 – I vote for your first rep! The turn was good, not wide at all – in fact, you can stay where you were at :08 and send to the tunnel, you don’t need to move towards the tunnel more than a step – That gets your out of there even sooner!
That ending line mirrors the end of sequence 1 – you can be starting the blind before she enters the tunnel/as she is in it because motion at reconnection support the 7 jump. At :11, you were late starting it so she took the 8 bar.
Great job on these!
>>I found out this week that I get to have my knee scoped on Thursday next week (there’s a ‘loose body’ in there, caused by Mr. Badger running into me at full speed while on a walk in March – he’s lucky he’s cute). So, I’m gonna squeeze in as much as I can the first part of this week, and then there might be a lot of stationary (for me) skills stuff for a while.>>
I hope it is an easy procedure with quick healing!!! The next package has a lot of emphasis on ‘effective lead outs’ so you can do plenty of standstill handling 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
Lots of great stuff here! In general, your running lines were good – The push to the backside can be on a different line (see below) but you had strong lines in other spots!
Seq 1: Jump to tunnel looked great, lots of drive into it and you also cued the turn on the exit without losing that speed. Yay! :15 and :28 were especially lovely in that respect!
Forced blind on 3: she reads the turn back to the takeoff side beautifully when you can convince her to come to the backside 🙂 So we will focus on convincing her to come to the backside! Your read my mind on the rep where you rewarded her – I think she needs more reps of chase the momma to the reward there, because most of her frame of reference in agility is “take the bar you see”. So you have permission to be late on the blind cross to the backside – hold your connection really long, call her name a lot (we will eventually replace that with a threadle cue) and reward a ton for coming to the correct side.
The other thing you can do it train it is to lessen the visual of the bar by using just one wing (the entry wing to the backside) then have the bar low and angled, kinda hanging off the jump cups – the wing becomes more salient and the bar becomes less salient – I have found we can raise the success rates very quickly this way, then we can add back the 2nd wing to make it look like a jump again when she has more experience with the cue.You weren’t handling it incorrectly, it was more about changing her frame of reference there so she understands that we don’t want her to take the bar she sees. It is an incredibly useful tool, so totally worth the practice – she will end up loving it!
Sequence 2:
1st rep – Nice drive off the line 1-2! She turns nicely on the tunnel, so I bet you don’t need to decel – just run, give the verbal and leave. And, strategically, run closer to the tunnel so you aren’t as far ahead for the backside send, it had too much decel for her liking 🙂 She is picky about how much decel she likes LOL!
2nd rep – you had more acceleration off the line and no real decel and she read the tunnel exit nicely!! She also liked the motion of the blind into the backside push on the other side.
Great job with your connections on this!
I timed the difference between the 2 runs – the 2nd one was a lot faster overall. She turned a little wider out of the #2 tunnel on the 2nd run but it set up a great line to he backside. Also, you had more energy on the 2nd run in terms of the go go go back to the tunnel and to the last jump, that might have been a factor in it being faster as well.Seq 3: Wheee! Fun!
On the backside at 3 – I like the dog path you chose on the first rep – I think this is the fastest line for all dogs, not just Winnie. You can push her to the backside from further across the bar – you were hiding the wing a little at 1:04 (your stuck your foot past the wing) so she was wide on a parallel path to yours. That made you a little late getting out of the way for the blind so she had to wait a little. If you run more to where the wing meets the bar, or center of the bar, you can cue the backside then get outta there sooner and she will have even tighter lines.Loved your turn at 5 at 1:09 – you got in there, swooshed it, and left. She was able to set up a nice turn while maintaining a lot of speed in and out of it. Yay!!
At 1:13 on the circle wrap on 7 – you were in a really good position, showing her the wing, so she was able to have a direct line to it. You can be a tiny bit more rotated with your right hip facing the bar and left hip back towards the tunnel, feet facing the next running line, to set up more collection and to also get you outta there sooner (I put up a video on that in the custom skills sets package 2). She turned really nicely on it – great collection without losing speed in or out of it. Yay!
If you play with these again – try a slice line on that jump, it will be faster than a circle wrap – it maintains extension better and sets up a better line to the ending line.
Next rep – ah yes, at 1:22 you were looking forward so she read it as blind cross and ended up behind you. You were a little more connected at 1:27 and to be honest, it was better than at 1:04 when she did get it… I think at 1:04 you were moving more into the gap using body pressure and at 1:27 you were in a better spot – so increase your connection so you can get the better spot and do the serp/blind like you did on the first rep (you did a rear cross on takeoff at 1:34 and she read it, but the serp/blind will be faster 🙂 )
She had a refusal on the very end at jump 5 – I think you were a little disconnected and turned into her too soon. Strategically, you can run closer to the tunnel to set up the commitment. For training – proof that 🙂 You can do tunnel-jump and flail around and turn early – and if you are near the jump, pay her for taking the jump no matter what you do 🙂 I love when my dogs save me when my connection is poopy or I turn too soon 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!!
TracyHi there!
Looks like you were out in the early morning here LOL!!SO MUCH GOOD STUFF on this video. I am offering ideas on the tiny tiny details, which is pretty cool because so much is going well.
>>I still could be better at connection across the body and quieter hands for the tight turns.
Yes, connection across the body in a couple of spots. And only one spot needed a quieter set of hands – but that was more about the soft brake arm and not sending with the dog side arm (jump 5 on course 1, see below).
>>We need help on tunnel exit Seq 2. Should I be closer to the jump after the tunnel so she sees me earlier?>>
Well, yes, but that relies on outrunning her (and I am not sure that outrunning her is possible) and we don’t want her to make the decision when she sees you because her decision might already be made by then :)) The answer lies in what happens before the tunnel – strategically, you can hang out by 6, send to 7 do a tight blind cross so by the time she is at the 6 foot info line in front of the tunnel, you are past the entry, heading to 9 and yelling right right right (more below).
Course 1:
Good send to 3, stay closer to line on FC, don’t back up – possibly do it all closer to 3Spin late on 5 at ;06 and :24 – send and leave rather than spin or start psin MUC Hearlier from closer to 3
You left out 8 on he first rep which is why it was so hard to get ot the BC 9-10.
but even late, connect across the body will get her back sooner – you did that more at :32 and it helpedI think you are saying “go”, or is it “To”? a lot, rather than wrap verbals, etc – the ending line is a good place for go but remember to mix in the directionals in the other spots.
Course 2:
The opening line:
BC 2-3 is a great choice – she didn’t read something about it on the first rep – might need to see the connection sooner, or might need to be closer to the line (hard to see which line you were on from this angle but she turned after landing from 2 rather than before takeoff. The BC looked to have an earlier reconnection there on the 2nd rep and 3rd rep and it looks like she read it better, especially on the 3rd rep!Jump 4 – a send-and-leave is good but don’t commit with a bit swoosh and GO at :43… she went! One step and a turn cue is all you need there. At :58 you didn’t say go but the physical cue was very go-like 🙂 so the outside arm soft brake would be very effective here. You also don’t need to send as much, you can move into it and use a soft brake and still easily get the 5-6-7 line.
At 1:27 you had more of a softer send and a turn cue and it was even better! You can be more dramatic with the outside arm as a soft brake, almost rotating your upper body towards her.FC at 6-7 at :46 and 1:01 and 1:30: VERY nice! Great timing and position!
I suggest staying closer to 6, send to 7 so you can be further ahead on the tunnel and do a BC there on 7 rather than rotate – spin at :47 was late (jump 7) so as she entered the tunnel at :50 you were driving ahead and so she drove ahead.
And the kimye verbal might be too general… I believe it is the same verbal that you used on course 1 to indicate the exit to the next tunnel.
On the next time through there, you said ‘right right right’ and got a much better turn!
At 1:33 it was a little late so she pulled the bar but you had a nice right cue and got a nice turn on the 8 tunnel!After the #8 tunnel – 9 should be a backside. You had her take the front side which sets up a threadle to 10 – you can give a little more collection cue on 9 but more importantly, try to threadle without rotating your feet or stopping your motion (or running way from the line back towards the tunnel like at 1:37): you got 10 but then you were too far behind and off the line to get the 11 backside. Staying closer to the line at 10 will help, as will more connection and less arm send on the backside push at 1:10.
You converged back in at 1:40 to get 11 but it would be easier to control 13-14 if you didn’t have to work quite as hard to get 11- you can stick closer to 10 and send to it, which puts you way ahead for 13-14.The FC 11-12 looked good on the line at 1:16 and 1:40! The 13 – 14 line is a tunnel discrimination for sure – it looked like you were moving towards the 14 tunnel but then stopped and so she stayed on the serp line at 1:19. Depending on how you handle your tunnel discrims – you will either want to fully turn and close your shoulder forward to 14 (almost facing the #2 jump) or you will want to move along that line to 2 while opening your upper body back to her so she fully sees your left arm across the body. Which is your normal preferred tunnel discrimination handling?
You did a blind there at 1:45 (13-14) which is a great handling choice too! Strategically, sticking closer to the 9-10 line so you can set up a send to 11 will get you back down to the blind more quickly – which will then make it more timely. You got her to do it by catching her with connection but I believe we can get you back down to it sooner too. I love the aggressive choice, though!!
Course 3:
Very nice opening!! I think you had great connection and great lines all the way from the release to 6 so she also produced great lines and lovely turns.
On jump 5 – a smaller detail: at 1:56 you are giving her a serp arm – I don’t think she needs it (it was late anyway :)) it causes her to look at you rather than read your line, so you can try just staying connected and running there to set up the push at 6 to then get the blind. (although 6 is a front side, should be easier on the map lol) Using a serp arm there cues her to come in and we really want her to stay out – the ‘take the jump’ understanding at 5 is a trained skill – I believe she understands it but if not, we will train it 🙂
You can give her a go cue on the 7 tunnel a little sooner just so you can help 8 less – that will give you more time to set up the turn at 9 – I think the cues before 9 went really well! It looks like she needed to see more connection as you ran away, so remember to keep reaching back (arm across the body really helps here).
You can also do a wrap-blind (spin/ketchsker, whatever we call it nowadays LOL! to run the ending line with her on your right for 10-11 🙂Great work on these! It is fun to look at the tiny details and obsess 🙂 Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! It is a perfect time of year to do swimmies!!
Skills video (tunnel turns) – she is doing really well here! A few ideas for ya:
The GO verbal looks really good at the beginning when you were also supporting with more motion. Towards the end, you were not moving as much so she was questioning a bit. Keep moving, make sure you are leaning forward and opening up your stride before she goes in – she is young enough that she is still pairing the verbal with the motion.
For the “Josie” verbal – it looks like it is a soft-turn-towards-me cue? You can also support that with motion away before she goes in, so she can follow the line of handling – name call is pretty general as a turn cue, so the line off handling increases in importance.
wrap cues – I couldn’t hear a verbal there, so if you were using one it was nice and quiet (yay!) If you weren’t using one, go ahead and add it, I think she is reading these well enough to slap the verbal on. And to get her to drive out of the wraps, run away so as she exits, she can chase you for the reward from your hand.
When you had the refusal on the wrap when you switched sides, it looks like she needed to see more motion into it after the wing wrap to get better commitment – you were decelerated as she came around the wing so she was unsure of her commitment there. You had more motion on the rep after it (1:25) so she committed a lot better!)
Question about verbals: I think on the wrap at 1:26 you said “Josie” – so that might be a bit too general because we don’t want all turns to be name calls. I suggest a wrap verbal here.On the RCs: Your first one had good motion she just needed to see the RC pressure sooner (before the 6 foot info line in front of the tunnel). The 2nd one was spot on!! Yay! When you switched sides, you didn’t have as much motion into it so she wasn’t as sure – the motion is definitely a commitment cue for her! When you switched to the left, you can also show pressure sooner to get her to commit and turn.
And, the tunnel verbal helps too – as she is coming around the wing for all of these, you can be using your tunnel verbal then switch to one of the other turn cues – not just for the RCs, but for all of the various turns.
On the sequences:
Sequence 1 – very nice! Nice early timing on the blind, strong connection, good line! You can drive out of the BC even more – stay connected but explode up the line (don’t run into the wall, of course :))
2nd rep even better! Yay!Seq 2: great connection, loved your line on the wrap 3-4-5! The timing looked good to me – she barked and didn’t quite collect as much as I know she can, but I think it is more lack of experience there at :25 (high speed then super tight then high speed) and she will continue to get tighter and tighter on those. She was turning her head, so you can also keep working on getting more of that head turning going in and out of the wraps.
On the last tunnel – give the GO earlier (6 foot info line) and run more, don’t dilute it by slowing down2nd rep – you basically showed all the same info on 2-3-4-3 (maybe the transition was exaggerated a little more?) and you definitely rotated sooner – LOVED her turn here! Another great running line from you, nice job! Keep running at the end, especially before she enters the tunnel, she is looking at you on the last bar.
Seq 3:
You can run down the line dog-on-left and RC the tunnel, that worked nicely! And good job with your early wrap verbals for 5, she was turning really nicely! But by doing the RC on the tunnel entry, it put you so far from the line (1:03 and 1:18) that she had an entire conversation with you as she came around the wing to head back to the tunnel #6 LOL!
Very nice job on the ending line on the first rep, nice timing/connection/line in and out of the blind.
On the 2nd rep, you had a bit of a domino effect that caused a refusal on the last jump:
You were further from the #4 tunnel on the RC – which put you further from the wrap at 5 at 1:18, so you had to stay there for one more step to get her back to 6. That put you later on the BC there (still pretty good timing but not as early as the first rep) and then on the way to the last jump, you looked forward and it pulled her off the line. Tiny suble details starting at 4 which ended with a refusal at 9.
So – because the RC on the tunnel entry makes 5 much harder to get in and out of, other options on that opening are: put the RC between 2 and 3 which puts you closer to the 5 line so you can get the turn and leave earlier
or
do a lead out for a BC or push line, so you are on landing side of 2 on the perfect path line before you even release her from the stay. Those will also set a great line, get you close to 5 which means you get to leave 5 sooner too 🙂Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Great job setting it up, you preserved the challenges while getting it all to fit. You can keep 13 as a low jump or even just a wing – she did well with it as a jump here.
On the video – excellent job!!! Lots to be happy with and a few ideas (only one of which is crazy LOL!)
Opening 1-2-3 –
First rep: you can be right on the line 2-3 so she turns before takeoff, she was center of the bar on 2 at :13.
On the 2nd rep: LOVED the BC between 2-3, she was a straight line blur facing 3 over jump 2 at :59.First rep: I think she did a great job on the 4-5-6 line! That 4-5-6 section si a series of really hard turns and she drove right back in for 5 AND turned nicely to 6 🙂 And you did a great job showing it her 🙂
On the 2nd rep – with all of the speed on the opening line, you were a little late on the FC and she was a little wide – I think you can start the FC as she is taking 3. You can also lead out a little less, do the BC and handle from landing side of 5.Teeter and weaves look lovely <3
Great timing on the FC 8-9 (after the weaves) at :25 and 1:11. One step across the line too far though on both of these, she had a tiny zig zag on landing.
10-11-12: wheee! Good layer.
But... I have an idea :)
To get both the perfect path AND all the way up to 13, try handling from closer to jump 8 (jump after the weaves): same timing, better line (basically just at the wing)> Do the FC there and don’t accelerate out of it, maybe take a step or two: but then when she lands, turn on your GO juice and send her up the line with verbals… while you handle from the *pther* sie of the tunnel and head directly to 13. Basically you will be running from 8 directly to 13 with lots of words 🙂About that pesky 13 jump: a few ideas 🙂
You got quiet as she was entering the 12 tunnel at :30, so she exited looking for you on both reps (good to know that quiet is a turn cue, because sometimes breathing is a good thing!) So try to be yelling GO GO GO GO as she is entering.
For the opposite arm – a tweak in technique should help get her to stay on the line: you were ultra connected but your outside arm was back. Stay connected like you did but use your opposite arm to point ahead of your body here (pointing it to the center of the bar) so that your right shoulder actually comes forward of your body. Pointing forward is fine with the opposite arm LOL! I think she will really respond to it because even a subtle forward ‘pop’ with the ouside arm was getting a great response like at :56. You had it even more forward at 1:17 and she got it!I think you got happy for the turn at 13 at 1:21 so didn’t quite turn for 14, so she ended up on the line to a tunnel which is fine 🙂 You fixed it beautifully at the end.
So about that opposite arm – here is a discussion/demo video from the opposite arm class, this might give you more of a visual of what I mean about arm position? Let me know if it makes sense.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>>And another thing… I once promised myself that I would not get to the point of planning strides for my dog agility. I am remembering that…>>
Oh heck yes – I don’t plan strides, that is up to the dog. I just try to pick the fastest tools for the job at hand – and these obsessive conversations really help! Enzo is allowing us to learn a TON from him! Very cool 🙂
Hi!
Yes, it has been really weird seeing facebook pop up all the memories of the summers in Winnipeg 🙁 I am bummed about your knee, I hope it feels perfect again very soon!Great job these runs, sooooo much lovely handling! I have small details for you to obsess on:
In the order of the videos:
1st video – He is committing beautifully but I think we can get more collection on the 3 jump (the backside wrap) – he was slicing it a bit. You cued and left early perfectly – you can ask for a bit more collection by going to your other arm (right arm) sooner, before he reaches the backsie wing, and using it as a bit of a soft ‘stop sign’. Keeping him on your left and swooshing him to the backside set up a bit more of a slice line. In the Package 1 Custom Skills Sets, you will see a video about the brake hand for the backside circle wraps 🙂
Send and leave on 4: good timing! We can tighten that up a bit, with a verbal collection cue, or a spin rotation if your knee will allow it. And, with his big stride and the distances here: turn your head for the blind 5-6 almost immediately as he is taking 4 immediately, so the blind is done before he makes a takeoff decision and he can set up a tighter turn 5-6.2nd video – Nice opening! I don’t think he needs the leg slap between 2 and the tunnel, maybe a slightly earlier name call – but he didn’t appear to look at the off course jump (he was running in extension so you can also try a soft turn cue at 2 but that might bleed off speed).
Remember to tell him to go jump before he enters that 3 tunnel, you got quiet so he had a little hesitation there.
The 4-5 line is hard – a ‘soft brake’ arm at :07 (before he takes off for 4) will help tighten up 4-5 – it is gently bringing up the outside arm to cue a little bit more collection (it is also in the Package 1 Custom Skills Sets :))
You can play with hanging back near the 5 jump to set the decel into the RC at 6 to set up the wrap away, and tighten that up a little. Very nice turn cue on last tunnel, he exited nice and tight!3rd video – very nice! He was tentative coming off the line, not sure why, couldn’t see you LOL!! Your position can be slightly further across the line 2-3 to set a better line, and more on the perfect path 4-5 to set up a tight turn there. What I mean by that is stay closer to the entry wing of 4, almost exactly where you want him to land to send to the 4 backside – do the cross on that spot then get out of there 🙂 You were a couple of steps across the bar so he jumped out to your position which sets up a slightly wider line.
Good push to the 6 backside! You don’t need to handle 6: when he is heading to the backside, trust his commitment and leave for 7 – you helped more than needed so you were a little in the way at :15 when he landed.4th video- really really nice! Super connected! GREAT timing on the push to the backside for the FC! Stayed connected as you exit, keeping the dog-side arm behind you. His turn was good here but I think we can get it a little tighter.
5th video – same sequence as video 4, but different handling choice 🙂 Also looked great! The threadle cue is VERY strong for him – I couldn’t hear a verbal but I am guessing you did one. He collected beautifully on it and on the backside!
So, I timed the backside push versus the threadle/RC: almost identical (I would need electronic timers to know for sure, I got them at about 4/100ths apart). I am pretty sure that would change when you are back to full steam running and you can power up the line on the backside push: you were decelerated there so he had a little bit of speed reduction on that one. It will be good to see when your knee is feeling better!!
Last video – also very very nice!!!
Your timing on the push to the 3 backside looked great (good connection too!!) He seemed to have no questions so you can just leave directly to 4. You don’t need to handle his commitment to the jump on the backside at 3 – if he doesn’t self-commit (is that a word? haha!) then we will teach it :)) You handled it a bit as you ran through so the blind was a little late.
On the wrap jump at :08 – great job getting there, great job with the verbal! Go to the left arm sooner – when you cue for too long with the dog side arm (right arm here) then you don’t rotate enough – it is the foot rotation that helps with the collection, and turning to get your left hand in front of the bar will get an even sweeter turn there.
On the backside at 7 (:14) – as with the 3 backside, you can help him commit to the bar less and do the blind sooner. You are getting to the takeoff side beautifully, so now you can play with NOT watching him come around to take the jump, but rather drive forward into the blind – you’ll get waaaaay ahead! (I know, I am telling you to disconnect LOL!!)Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
