[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>> I think one thing I don’t do in training is really take the full time to walk through a course and that is where a lot of mistakes come from. When I actually take the time to fully walk a course like at a trial I do much better. However not fully walking it is a good exercise for me in itself.>>

Getting really good at walk throughs is such an important element, and I agree – we all do much better when we do a proper walk through 🙂 Having not fully walked it is a different mental prep exercise LOL! I do that in snooker ALL THE TIME to practice changing plans on the fly and also to change the plan after the walk through (sometimes you realize you missed something or see a better way to do it, so you can get it without having walked it – but again, that is a practiced mental prep game :))

As far as walking the course then running a while later? That is a GREAT practice because it is so realistic to how things go at trials. I think the craziest time I ever experienced this was at Cynosport one year: I walked Team Snooker at 6:30am, and ran it at 7pm (and ran other courses before it). So I file away walk throughs in my head and then pull them up like computer files to “look at” throughout the day, in terms of visualizing. Definitely something to practice before big events!

I think the walk-runs here went well! A couple of ideas for the walk through:
It was hard to hear the verbals – so be sure to be loud and clear on them even in the walk through, so it is easy during the run.
When you add more speed in the handling, remind yourself to keep looking back at the dog behind you, for longer. We are all making the same mistake of looking forward too soon, which skews the connection and timing. After the FC 4-5, for example, the dogs are still behind you for several strides – the dogs are fast, but not THAT fast – so don’t look forward immediately. That will help you tighten up the turn on both of them over 5 (a blind cross is an option to consider there, because it can be finished sooner, leaving you time to move away sooner so they don’t jump as long over 5).

On the 2nd to last jump, you had a wrap versus slice decision. The exit of the wrap definitely had a better line to the last jump – so when you see that, it is worth it to take the time to walk the distance. You looked at the exit line here but it doesn’t look like you walked the distance, unless I missed it (the distance should be shorter on the wrap). The exit line of the extension slice puts the dog looking at the orange jump for a stride then at the backside of the last jump for a heartbeat before seeing the front of the last jump – I would bet the wrap is faster than the slice for your critters 🙂

I think both of the runs went well!
Kippy’s run looked good – a little wider than needed over 5 because of the acceleration out of the FC, and you actually ran a better ending line than you walked 🙂 I think your inner handler took over and told you that it was extra running with no benefit to do the original plan, and the inner handler produced a better one LOL! I liked it better – so you can try to run more full-out in the walk through so your inner handler has a moment to give feedback of “you will be here, just keep moving through rather than run all the way back the other direction” – that is one of the reasons we try to really run as much as possible in the walk throughs.

Emmie did well too, I don’t think things went poorly at all!! And you executed the plan you walked but had to scramble to get it.
She was correct to look at the orange off course jump at the end because that is the line that slice exit sets – I think you saw her question there. It was not a handling execution question, it was more of a planning question.

Great job here! Let me know if the ideas make sense 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! This was not a hot mess – that weave entry is so hard!

Good opening line – that is a weave entry to be trained 🙂 You can train it by teaching her the concept of staying out on the other side of the dog walk and going a ‘thing’ that is further away. You can start that with a straight tunnel she can see clearly. Then do a jump instead of the straight tunnel. Then the weaves can go there. I think she can do it if the weaves are closer? The other option is to bring the wings in closer to where she can do them – then gradually move them back out. I am pretty convinced we will be seeing this at the US Open, so it is good to have a baseline for training in the next couple of months 🙂

I think your cues before the tunnel were good, it is a trained skill more than a handled skill – the dogs need to learn to look 20 feet away for the weaves. It is easier with a big dog that can be there in one stride than it is for a little dog that needs multiple strides to confidently get out there.

When you did it from the other side, it became a turn away on the flat so you can add in tandem turn handling (rear on the flat) But I think she will learn the skill quickly, so you won’t need to add the extra handling to help.

As she is weaving, trying to turn and go before she exits, to be able to get the FC on the next jump sooner (you were late at :59, she was already taking off). This is also a good skill challenge to work during the next couple of months.

I think the handling of the push to the backside at 1:05 was good (she dropped the bar here) but she had a question – she lifted her head and didn’t propel from her rear here. Maybe it was the turn of head/disconnection that was happening as you moved into the blind? That would get filed into the dog training category, because that handling move requires the head turn – so you can show her this skill and deliberately disconnect even sooner – and then reward for not touching the bar.

She did not seem to have the same question at 1:34 on the same jump with basically the same handling, so maybe she needs a warm up on that skill before you run the course? It would be a good use of the warm up jump to practice a little deliberate disconnection 🙂

That line was indeed a crazy line. From the backside push, you can hold connection on your right longer then do the blind on the flat when you know she has come through the gap to get the front of the jump after it, or give your threadle verbal sooner (or both, I think handling plus early threadle verbal would be perfect 🙂 )

Looking at the section when you handled it differently at the end – doing it as multiple crosses works, as long as you get the last FC at 1:57 in sooner. I love blinds and double blinds, as you know… but the more we do in a row, the higher the likelihood that we are going to be late (and when I say “we”, I mean “ME”. Ha! But you were late on the last FC,so welcome to my club LOL!!) A less-is-more option on that line is to keep her on your right the whole time after the DW: threadle in for the backside and then run like mad to serp her back out after it. I think it will work nicely and also, fewer crosses needing timing so fewer opportunities to be late.

The line before the DW went well (it was in between the ending line on the video, so I am jumping around :)) – I think you can handle the jump after the tunnel at 1:20 from further away – try not to cross the plane of the dog walk – so that when you do the FC to get back to the dog walk at 1:23, you can be sooner and also further ahead. You went in a little too deep to the orange jump after the tunnel, so the FC was a little late and you were aught behind the dog walk plane. So to be able to get past the tunnel, you widened the turn to the DW. I think handling the jump after the tunnel from a distance will keep you on that line to begin with, so you can ge the good line without a wide turn on the jump before the DW here.

Great job here! Have fun this weekend!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Hope you are having fun and that there is not a lot of humidity! Heat is one thing, but humidity makes it so much harder to run 🙁

He did really well here, even though it was hotter than the surface of the sun! Yay!
Question about the pattern game – did you do it up close and personal with Chaia right there, or was she pretty far away while walking the course? I think he probably needs to play the various transition to trials games within 6 feet of a person, or moving past a person in that 6 foot range. That seems to be the final frontier for him – being able to ignore a person while going right past the person.

This new environment was really hard – heat, big course, new person, barking dog… so you can increase the reinforcement early in the course for getting started rather than do a big piece of it right away. You started rewarding more later in the course and he did really well with multiple reinforcements in a short time span – you probably planned it that way because of the weaves, but you can also build in early reinforcement for the opening line, to help build excitement in the early stages of the course.

It looks like just about All the skills are in place which is GREAT, now we just need to get him in more environments so transfer the skills. A couple of handling ideas:

Stay closer to the serp line in 4-5: open up your shoulders to face the bar for the serp cue, but don’t pull away from it then push back to it as that can open up lines you don’t want him to take (like backside of the next jump, or the jump behind you after the serp jump).

Good boy in the weaves! Yay!

You can consider going the other way on 17 (last backside before the tunnel – bring him to the backside on the inside wing (turning left on the wing) and let him slice to his right – it might be shorter distance from 16-18 and also has a better exit line t the tunnel for full on extension. It would be fun to compare the two options!

And great job staying connected all the way through – it is never easy on a big course and especially harder with a baby dog! Well done!!!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! All sorts of good work here!!

On the Wingin’ it games – she did really well here! A couple of little details:
On the Go lines after the tunnel, let her see you really accelerate before she goes into the tunnel, that will help you get even more acceleration from her.
Good job with the Left/right verbals! You were saying them early enough, so now you can match the body language to that by turning for the new line sooner (before she enters the tunnel) rather than moving straight.
The RCs are harder for sure! It wa a bit of Goldilocks for the first couple of reps: too early, too late, just right 🙂
At 1:00, you were too early cutting in behind her, and also there was a loud noise that appears to have caught her attention? At 1:23, you were too late – she saw you facing forward when she entered the tunnel, so she didn’t see the RC cue.
Then you were able to get them just right and she read them really well! I think the trick for her is going to be starting closer to the wing and staying there til she exits, then accelerating up the RC diagonal. If you send to the wing and get too far ahead, it is harder to show the full RC cue.

Long lines and lead outs – this looked so fun, she looked great! It is real agility and she was nailing the sequences! A couple of small things:
Seq : on the first couple of reps, you can put her on more of a slice on jump 1, so she is facing the #2 jump – her butt will be closer to the a-frame so she won’t be facing the tunnel exit -that takes out an extra turn (you had a better angle at 1:54 and 2:08 but it can be even more of a slice to put her on a straight line to 2.

A small connection detail: Coming out of the tunnel, keep your left arm down and back, make a little more connection, so she has a clear line to 4. You were looking forward a bit so she wasn’t entirely sure. Then be patient with the toy throws, you were too early on the first couple of reps but she didn’t mind LOL!

Seq 2: Great job working through this!
On the first rep, you were getting comfy with it so you were a little late doing the blind (you did it as she took off for 2) and a little far from 3 so she ran past it.
2nd rep – really nice – much earlier timing on the BC (you started after she landed from 1 and better connection at 1:16 so she got 3, no problem!!!

Seq 3 – also nice! She turned really well over 2, never looked a the off course tunnel right behind the jump! At 2:02, you can trust her more to find 4 (the jump after the tunnel) and do the blind as soon as she exits the tunnel and turns towards 4) – you started it as she was taking off, which is a shade late.

On your second rep, you had more movement into the wrap at 2 (2:22) and she was wider. I think the stronger cue on the first rep at 2:00 where you had your right arm involved sooner, was better 🙂
On 4, your timing at 2:23 was same as on the first rep, so you can trust her and be sooner here too on that blind. But overall, it is really fun to see her growing up and running sequences for real!!!

Yes, keep rewarding thos stays – she did well here and she is fast, so stays are your friend as courses get bigger 🙂

OMG SHE IS THE CUTEST with her new hairdo! And a fancy ribbon in her hair! Love it 🙂 It was distracting because she was so cute!

She did really well here, lots of ideas for you!
After yoo send to the mat and PT, you can call her back to you over the mat and reward again 🙂 I think there were a couple of moments especially in the beginning where she wanted to stay with the PT haha!
I think she did really well with the PT! Accurate but not blazing fast yet, and also not looking at you.
She is looking at you with the toy, as you mentioned: hitting properly but looking at you simultaneously. When you tossed sooner, she didn’t hit as well and lifted her head. She did get better about NOT looking at you on the last few reps!
So we want to keep the accuracy of the PT and the excitement of the toy, and add in more of your motion – you can create a loop! Send to the PT with you walking a bit… after she gets her cookie from it, call her back to you past the mat (not over it) for a wild game of tug – then reset, send to the PT, and so on. So if you send her to the mat from your right side, let her eat her treat – then turn your back on the PT and call her back to you, past the mat, also on your right side. That way she gets he excitement of the toy but the accuracy and head position of the mat.
I think this can also help you add your motion! Let me know if it makes sense, I might need to put it on a video LOL!!!

Great job on all of these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

PS – I think the concept of placement markers in reinforcement procedures first came from the marine animal and zoo animal training world, but I will double check that 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there!

>> 1. What is the theory behind the verbal marker on how the reward will be delivered? Or you could point me to some resources is great too.

Many reasons, all having to do with clarity and predictability, which increases success and gets rid of frustration. I call them ‘reinforcement procedures’ (not sure where I picked that phrase up from).

I never really thought my dogs were frustrated, but when I added the markers for reinforcement? They were much happier and more fluent, more quickly.
In a nutshell – the marker cues allow us to tell the dog when the reward is in play, versus when it should not be in play. If there is a toy in the environment or treats in our hands, for example, the cues are very specific about when/where/how the toy/treats are available. So the dog multi-tasks less and has more inherent self-control built in, with less failure. And example is: I can run with a frisbee flapping all over my hand and CB won’t look at it til I say ‘bite’. He doesn’t have to think about it because the marker tells him. “Yes” or “good” or hand movement are too general, and dogs make mistakes. And if I make a mistake (shocker! LOL!), he is not tempted to grab at the reinforcement in my hand or leave for reinforcement – he is less frustrated.

Sure, they all sort it out eventually – but these markers have made things go faster in the learning stages. And it transfers to trialing better, because the dogs can work without looking at or looking for reinforcement.

Plus, the markers fit nicely into the ‘everything between the click and the reward is reinforced & built into the behavior’ theory. If I mark a nice send with a ‘get it’, it indicates both “THAT WAS GREAT!” And “look ahead for the toy”. And if I mark a great turn with “bite”, it means both “huzzah!” And also to drive back to me for the reinforcement.

If I mark something with “yes”, most dogs are going to look at us then track the reinforcement placement, which builds in looking at us in places that we don’t want them to look at us. And if we get excited on course and say “yes!”… they look at us and often come off the line or make a mistake, asking if the reinforcement is being placed or not.

Plus, it solidifies verbals by making the reinforcement predictable. For example –
Go predicts “get it”
A wrap or tight turn predicts “bite”
On a stay or when the dog is behind me, “Catch” means it is coming back to you
So the dogs respond a lot better because they have more clarity than they did when I was marking all the things with “yes!” LOL

At this stage in my training, I establish reinforcement procedures very clearly – then basically insert the behaviors I want to train into the procedure. The dogs learn even more quickly then in the past. I don’t have a zillion markers, but I am happy with the ones I have.
I am sure there are more reasons, but I might need more coffee LOL!

>>2. I suspect that one of the things that added to Zing’s learning confusion is using a wing vs the whole jump. She is very pattern oriented. I suspect she sees the wing differently than the jump. What do you think? I need to decide this for Joe as well.>>

Do you mean in a front side versus backside moment? I don’t use full jumps very early, but I do like to introduce the concept of a bar pretty early (even if it is just one wing and a bump or something) when I am introducing concepts like backsides, go lines, serps and Threadles. I do lots on a wing, but I guess I do a lot of balance with something that looks like a bar.

>>3. Why did my handling tell her to slice?

Do you mean on jump 2, the backside? I think it was the explosion of motion, coupled with slicing being easier (she was asking if you wanted a slice or a wrap, and I think the motion gave her a good reason to slice LOL!). And it is possible that she is a lefty, meaning it is easier for her to turn to her left there (slice). 2 of my young dogs are strong lefties, so it would have been easy to get the slice and really hard to get the wrap. My other youngster is a righty, so she would have wrapped easily and the slice would have been harder on the threadle side. The adult dogs, like Hoot? Balanced, so you are not likely to see a difference.

Let me know if that makes sense!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Awww that sounds SO FUN!!!!! Fingers crossed for speedy results!

And happy birthday to Ace! Give him a couple of treats from me 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

First of all, the sequence looked great! The smoother, simpler handling worked well, you were connected and timely. Nice!!
About his obsession with the Arborvitae Trees at the beginning… you can use that as a good foundation training skill! Going near those, you can play the Package 3 pattern game and see if you can get engagement in front of them without having to work too hard 🙂 You can also do some Instant Focus and volume dial games in front of them too! When you see that he is really interested in a distraction, you can get closer to it and play one of those games (I would start with the pattern game) until he is offering engagement rather than offering looking at the distraction 🙂

Sounds like a fun and air conditioned weekend ahead of you! Keep me posted on how the various runs go, and have a blast!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Yes – pro-active! And urgent – I like to be urgent in my handling on most things, it really keeps the dog engaged and paying attention while the wind is rushing through their ears 🙂

I like the layering concept here in the video! Layering is becoming a really common course design element. She definitely thought you were NUTS to not want the tunnel after the green wing LOL! I think it will work better with more momentum into it – start her at the yellow tunnel on the left side of the screen, then past the wing, then give her a big go go go around the yellow wing. I think calling her got her attention there, but maybe too much attention? She might have been thinking the name calls were a turn cue to the tunnel.

And starting it with more momentum will get her on the line sooner, so you won’t have to rush to get to the jump after the layering moment!
The last set had more of that urgent, proactive handling and it looks like she was totally listening and ignoring those tunnels 🙂 Yay!

You can use your tendon-healing time to work the difference between layering, and turning tight – that will turn out to be pretty useful!!

Nice work here. Stay cool!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
The lap turns look really good – you were rotated on time but also had a nice amount of patience, letting him get almost ot your hand before turning him away. Fabulous!

He had a little question at :38 and didn’t go into the tunnel – it was because you stopped moving and turned away, so he was no longer sure which end of the tunnel you wanted 🙂

The tandems were a little harder at first – you were a little too close to the wing on some of them, and also stepping in towards the wing on some – you’ll want to keep moving forward then flip him away, kind of like what you did at 1:45 (and then keep moving forward and connecting on the tunnel cue, you turned away there too so he wasn’t sure which tunnel entry you wanted).

1:58 also went well and 2:04 was the best one – you really got into the flow of moving into the tandem turns but on a line parallel to the wing (not too close, not too far, LOL!). Tandems are generally more in motion and lap turns are more useful when you are standing still.

Great job here, especially on the last several tandems!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
Good work here, we got some good info from Ruse!
In general, the planning went well. I have some suggestions for you to smooth it out even more, with an eye towards getting things as perfect as possible on the very first run:

On the walk through, I think you should over-rehearse the connection on the of exit crosses and tunnel, with your arm back to the her nose and your eyes back to her eyes. You were disconnecting/looking forward on the walk through in those spots, so when you ran your first run, the connection was happening for the first time. That lack of connection rehearsal contributed to two spots that can be better (more below).

Also during the walk through, try to make your handling decisions quicker, so you can add verbals in sooner – you are loud when running (which is good) but I didn’t hear verbals for almost 5 minutes of the walk through. You had some oopsies on the verbals in the walk through and then run and I think it was because they were not rehearsed/double checked.

Also on the walk through – try to get to speed sooner so you can work transitions/decels into the turns – this might be very helpful for Hero, especially! You started at 6 minutes and that doesn’t give a lot of time to really practice it and your walk through ended up a bit slower in pace than the actual run.

One last thing: #2 is a backside on this course, so always check your course maps to make sure you see all the backsides 🙂 As a front side, a lead out push can work as long as you stay connected longer and wait longer to move.

On the run: the lead out push you planned can totally work – it requires a longer connection and you can’t move forward til she lands and looks at 2 – then you can move forward but must maintain connection back to her and the landing spot of 2.

Your connection was good overall because you are getting more natural with it, but if you don’t rehearse it every step of the way, it will be good in some parts and then possibly lead to an error: you almost lost her to the off course tunnel entry on the exit of #16 at 8:55 – that is a good spot to remember to rehearse the connection in the walk through 🙂

>>Also she had to deviate around me to get the tunnel at 17 because I didn’t move off her line and get my head around to make connection.>>

I don’t think it was the line you were on as much as the connection was late – you can also call her before she enters that tunnel so she knows to come out of it looking for you.

And double checking your verbals as you work them in the walk through will help too: you kept saying right right on 12-13-14 and18-19 but it is a left 🙂

>>I did run with Hero also, I made heaps of mistakes and talked to the camera a bit but when I finished the bloody camera wasn’t even on lol.>>

OH NO! I hate when that happens. I had it happen on Tuesday: I recorded a 15 minute lecture and when I went to turn off the camera… it turns out I had never turned it on. GRRRR! LOL!

>>Hero jumped very long on 8, and so wide he missed coming back in for 9.

That is the transition moment: when he is over 7, he would need to see you beginning to decelerate so you can rotate away before he takes off for 8 – that will cue him to collect. And my guess is that you were also not connected enough as you ran away to 9, so he drifted wide trying to sort out which line you wanted. Ruse is more experienced so she was a little wide but found the line with the softer connection. With less experience, Hero drifted wider to watch you longer.

>> With him I did the BC 10-11 and that was a much better choice than FC I did with Ruse which felt awkward.

I thought the FC looked good with Ruse, but it is a lot of rotation before and after it, so it is possible that the BC works just as well and was easier to execute 🙂

>>He wasn’t very independent and pulled off 13 and 14.

it might not be an independence question – it might be that your arm was up and you were looking forward, so he didn’t know where to be.

>> I started over and ran looking behind like you said. I made much better connection and found I didn’t actually have to rush as I had heaps of time. So this pretty much confirmed your advice from yesterday. >>

YES!!!! I think it will make it much easier with both dogs: make looking back to their eyes into your very top priority, and rehearse it til your head falls off LOL!!!! Then rehearse it again with you running 🙂 It will make a big difference 🙂

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! He is doing really well on both of these!

Teeter video:
The first part, with the offering on the bottom of the teeter looks really good, he seems confident and unconcerned about movement or sound on the board. Yay! Have your cookies ready so that you can reward immediately and keep his head down, as he is leaping on the end you can also be moving the treats in. That will help prevent him from getting on then looking up at you.

On the 2nd part, he was doing well sorting out the mountain climber – it was harder for him but he was doing well!
You can have Bill waiting at the end of the board, right at the edge, with the cookies so it is mainly a recall up the board (or Bill sends him to you waiting at the end) – you can be right at the edge facing him, with massive reinforcement. That will help build the confidence so he doesn’t feel like he is running up a cliff all on his own LOL!
When he is sprinting up to the top, then you can change your position and move with him – when you do that, I recommend having the reward out there already at the end of the board. The easiest way to do that is to attach a big spoon or measuring cup to the end (duct tape works nicely :)) and that way, you can have the reward already placed at the top so he can go without you (and without looking for you).

2nd video:
I think the mat work is going really well! He is making a great effort to hit with multiple feet, so I think we can move forward with this in 2 ways:
– you can attach the mat to something that is 2 or 3 inches tall, so he steps up onto it as he moves across it. I think we did this with Fizz, so it is the same concept and will really continue to solidify his understanding of the footwork. Another session or two with treats should help transfer his understanding (I am sure he will figure it out immediately).
– then, insert toy play into the chain of events here. Tug a little, then send him to the mat, click and toss a treat – then call him back to you to reset with the tug toy. That adds in a tiny bit of arousal in these early stages, which is perfect! The hardest part of the running contacts work is adding in the arousal, so we can add it in nice and early with him.

Great job here! See ya later!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Good job on the skills sets! She was not super fast on these, but I think it was a combination of her wondering why the heck you were running past those perfectly fine tunnels 🙂 and also you were rightly protecting the tendon, so she was modulating her speed (which is perfectly fine for this).
On the first video: This went well! She did have a couple of questions – with the other obstacles so close, earlier verbal cues (and repeating them, as in around around around) and rotations will help answer her question about whether to stay out on the line for the 2nd wing or wrap back to you.

At :36 on the tunnel cue, I think you were blocking the line and the initial cue was a little too forward, which did look like wing-then-tunnel to her. She is pretty honest 🙂
The line was clearer on the next rep where you turned and called sooner and she could see the tunnel entry. Nice!

2nd video – it is always good to balance to make sure she isn’t patterning!

These little sequences also challenge connection, which is an important element in this type of course design challenge.
At :07, you disconnected by looking forward while she was still behind you, so she followed the line of shoulders and took the tunnel (good girl) . You were More connected on the 2nd rep so she got it , and also nicely connection on the 3rd rep with the ‘out around’ to the other wing. The tunnel send strong too and the rest looked good! You locked into the right amount of connection and timing and also she was sorting it out! These challenges don’t need massive connections, just enough connection back to her as you move along the lines, and that is what you were doing here.

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning and thanks for the update!!! Sounds like you had. Great trial day!
Congrats especially on your DQ with Mookie – it is NOT easy to do that with such a big, fast, powerful dog!!!!!! Well done!

>> I liked the theme for pkg 4 as I was able to apply it to the one day I trialed last week. I went through the 3 sequences before the trial to practice my run thrus. I found that Buddy ran the sequences best the way you ran them on your video with Electra. I was able to do it several ways with Mookie with good results.>>

Perfect! Buddy seems similar to Elektra in that he is calmer on course and doesn’t leave us in the dust. Mookie is more like Voodoo or Hot Sauce: all go go go with little room for human error LOL!

>>For the JWW which my most difficult to execute with Mookie I put in my verbals on the walk thru. For the run however, only one verbal came out of my mouth and it was when he indiciated to me he needed it. But, because I was in the correct positions for Mookie we Q’ed. He did not knock any bars 🙂>>

So even though the verbals were not quite perfect, it sounds like you nailed the rehearsal of everything else in your walk through, so he nailed it. And with the bars staying up, it probably means you were very connected, so keep focusing on that!

>> I had looked at the map the night before but was not sure of a plan. There was only one walk thru and I was second in. >>

So a couple of factors – stranger challenges (less comfort zone), and more time pressure. I am sure you have all the skills required for that type of course, but it might feel really uncomfortable in the trial setting. Keep working it, through, it will one together!!!!

>>I had to cut the walk thru short to warm up Mookie to go into the ring.>>

I feel that pain, it is something that goes on the list to plan for (short walk throughs)

>> We crashed and burned and I was late causing most of the bars to come down. His backsides were great. The bars came down when I did late blind crosses.>>

That was probably being a bit uncomfortable with the challenges and also maybe feeling rushed. It will all improve with practice 🙂 Keep entering Premier!

>> But I was determined to get in the verbals on time. Again, we had a split walk thru and I had time. The run was great, and I got the verbals in on time with no bars down for our first DQ and we got 2 first places. The Standard run felt great as I was able to execute it as I really walked it.

Good for you! Happy dance! Sounds like you had a great rehearsal in the walk through and then had time to get ready, making for excellent results.

>>I am not good when rushed.

Change your mindset: you ARE good, even when rushed, you just need to plan for less time and also not let it get into your head 🙂

>>>Should I continue to work on timing walk thrus when I practice ? And how do you determine the time that should be allowed for the # of jumps in a course or sequence ?>>

Both good questions:
Yes, on days when you are going to run longer sequences or full courses – time your walk through and walk it like it is a trial and you only have once change at it. That will help the walk through get to be habit and second nature and really comfy 🙂
And the faster you can complete your walk through process, the better (as long as you don’t skimp on the process). Start with your timer at 8 minutes for a full course, or 5 minutes for a sequence (10 obstacles or less). Then ideally work the time down to 4 or 3 or 2 minutes. I often give myself 2 minutes because at trials, I am often first in the ring or have multiple dogs running early in th running order, so I need to have them ready.
You. Can also warm up the dogs *before* the walk through at a trial, so that is one less thing to have to do between the walk through and the run! That reduces the feeling of rushing. And it will make it easier when both boys are in Excellent/Masters.

>>Should I continue to enter Premiere JWW for me to practice walk thrus as there is usually less time to walk and prepare. >>

Yes! It will give you practice on weirder courses too LOL!

>>Buddy is not entered until Sept and is in Open. He is a breeze to show if I stay very connected as he multi-tasks watching where the judge is on course. Mookie only has his eyes on me.>>

So since you know how much he needs connection, you can make that the biggest priority of the walk through.

>>The rest of the weekend we did a Canine Freestyle Video Event. Both dogs were great.>>

That sounds SO FUN!!!!!!!! What music did you use?

>>So thanks for another great topic, one I need to work on the most. I went one day to trial to work on the walk thru homework for your course and came home with a DQ. That was cool.

That is very reinforcing! Hard work = DQ 🙂 Yay!

>>I have another one trial day at the end of Aug. And will apply what I learned again 🙂>>

Fun! It is great to approach trials like that, as ways to practice and improve skills. Have fun!

Thanks as always for the update 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! She is also doing really well here!!
One thing that I think was causing her questions: as you move forward to 3, you are closing your shoulder forward/turning your shoulders and eyes to face 3. That breaks the connection and commitment support for 2, so she had questions:
at :27, you had great timing of moving forward! But you closed your shoulders so she did not take 2 (which is correct, based on the line of your shoulders). At :53, you held your position longer so you were a little late, and she got it. When you were late at 1:16, she dropped the bar. On the last rep, you got it – but I think the timing of the first rep at :27 was PERFECT (do this same timing for the FCs and BCs) and to get her to take 2, leave your left arm back behind you, shoulders/chest facing #2, making connection to her eyes, and just slide out of there (no need to sprint) – like a serpentine (because it is actually a weird serpentine LOL!!) Don’t turn your shoulders to 3 until after she lands from 2. That should get you the commitment AND the great timing.

The pool toy was funny! And great job on all of the reinforcement for the stays!! She really wants to release when you reconnect after leading out (before you give the verbal) so keep that reinforcement flowing so that stay remains super strong.

Great job here! Let me know if the ideas on the upper body position make sense 🙂
Tracy

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