Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi!
He did really well here! Hit every entry, and stayed in the whole time. No problem at all. Nice! Does he normally have trouble when things touch him? You mentioned it to him here and he seemed fine with it LOL! So, apologies for the boring “that was great feedback” LOL and onwards we go… on your next session, start with slightly harder angles at this width as a warm up – then close the poles up a little and work all the angles and motion. He is going to move through the progression very quickly, and I bet we see him start to ‘swim’ the poles within a few sessions 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
She did well with the added challenge of the tighter poles! When you had them really tight towards the end of the session, she got really thoughtful about it – but I think that might have also been because you were far ahead and not moving as much, so it was a bit of a double whammy of challenge. I think the Find ‘Em from the wings is a great next step – leaving the angles at about where they were at :29 on this video, start the find em game with the wings: that will challenge her but you will also not be too far ahead.
I think she also likes verbal affirmation, so you can add a ‘yes’ or similar marker when she hits the entry.
She definitely likes the flying squirrel!
And if she has fun and doesn’t have to think too much with the Find ‘Em game, you can tight the poles up a little but still do them as part of the Find ‘Em game from the wings – she will like the motion and I think she will still be able to maintain her accuracy 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! Great session!
Good job adding motion – be sure to be moving before he hits the entry, so he doesn’t rely on you being stationary as he is heading to the poles.I see what you mean about the bounce on one side and the singles on the other side – at first I thought maybe it was fatigue because the singles happened later in the video… but at the end you went back to the first side and he went back to bouncing. LOL! So it is probably more about how he is sorting out bending into the entry. I am not worried at all, he is doing really well and will sort it out without a problem.
I think the next session(s) should be the Find ‘Em game from wings (posted yesterday) and, separately, adding in the harder angles. If you don’t have access to channels, take a look at the games and add in the crazy handling on the 2x2s at this stage 🙂
After that – poles 1 and 2 go straight and poles 3 and 4 open back up to 3&9 o’clock, as we go into the final stage for 4 straight poles. Yay!
He definitely thought having to eat the cookies from the MM was a little stoooopid so you can fade out the MM a this point. He is looking straight and definitely drives for the toy – without losing his mind for it. Good boy!!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyPerfect! The heat might also be part of it – this is probably the first time she has transitioned from cold to hot weather and she is probably feeling the heat! Keep me posted 🙂
Tracy
Hi! Hope you had a lovely weekend!
Nice connection on the wing wrap exits, it was really clear from this angle and she turned really nicely!
and good verbals!
You can add 2 more challenges into this simple game:
– send her to the wing from further away (with you up by the jump) and then as she commits to the wing, run so she has to chase your line. You will ideally be past the jump as she exits the wing wrap. That will challenge her to find the jump from behind you and maintain good form rather than go into chase more.
– start right up by the wing, close enough to touch it and wait there until she is done with the wrap… then accelerate to the jump. She will have to drive ahead of you, which also challenges good form! You were close to the wing at around 1:59, but you can exaggerate it even more, getting closer and staying there so she has to drive way ahead of you.
On both of these, keep running until after she lands from the jump so she continues to read the acceleration cue.
>Should we play more than one game per day?>
For the puppy games, yes, it is fine to do more than one as long as they are short and fun 🙂 They should all be easy on the dogs’ bodies, so doing a couple is totally fine 🙂
Great job here, let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Looking at both of these videos together, I think the frisbee on the ground as a reward target was working when she could see it through the poles – but when you straightened the 2 poles, she didn’t have the idea that she should do the poles then get the frisbee. A couple of ideas for you to help her out:At the beginning of the first video, the poles were at a nice open angle. For a session or two, go back to that or a slightly hard angle but not straight yet. And instead of the frisbee on the ground, you can use an empty food bowl or a plastic lid as a focal point (nothing on it, just there for her to see). And when she goes through the poles, toss the frisbee or a big treat towards the bowl or lid. In a perfect world, the reward would land on it but as long as you get the reward near it, she will get the idea 🙂
And with the poles angled open and the reward target out there – work all the angles with you sending and with you moving, so she gets much more sure that it is through the poles then the reward. So if the poles were angles at 2 & 8 o’clock on the first part of the first video, and she is fine with that with you moving and throwing the reward after she gets it – then angle them just a little bit so they at 1 and 7 on the clock, and repeat that process of sending her through (and you moving) and you throw the reward after she goes through.
It is fine if she looks back at you a little bit for now after she gets through the poles – she is fast and we don’t want to throw before she chooses to go through the poles. The visual of the target will help keep her head straight, and the repeated placement of the thrown rewards will help too.
And then after a couple of sessions where she chooses to go through with the poles at 1&7 and you throw the reward towards the target after she chooses… then try the straight poles again – but as with the other angles, the reward is not already on the ground. It is in your hand and you throw it after she chooses to go through (but an empty bowl or lid can be out there as a focal point to throw towards).
You will see a lightbulb go on for her when you go back to the straight poles: she will be saying “aha! It is through the poles then the reward will be thrown out there somewhere” 🙂
>>Adding the 2nd set worked pretty well, but she started to stop before going through the 2nd set. Was my husband right that I should have let him call her or mark? I was saying excellent/good job to mark, then yesterday went back to clicker.>>
Where was the reward when you were working with the 2nd set? If you were marking and she was turning back, it might be that what you were holding was a little late in the throw or whatever your husband was placing was lower value (or both :)) So with the 2 sets, we want the same idea that she chooses to go through the first 2 poles and then you throw the reward out to an empty reward target. (or he can throw it, as long as it is high value). The timing of the throw is when her right shoulder is at pole 2, for now. Let me know, or post video if you have it 🙂
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Nice work here, he was doing a lovely job with the cone wraps AND finding the jump! So… onwards to the next step which is to NOT have the toy out ahead, but in your hand instead. The jump becomes the target and then it is up to you to throw before he looks back 🙂 To do this, you can also progressively add more distance between the jump and the cone to build up the go into longer and longer distances (bearing in mind that the goal is to throw while he is looking straight before he takes off, and not when he looks back after landing).
If that is easy for him, add 2 more variables (when there is more distance between the cone and the jump):
– send to the cone from super far away (you can be close to the jump) – that way he will exit the cone wrap and you will be past the jump, challenging him to find it with you waaaay ahead. Many young dogs find this difficult and go into ‘chase’ mode, missing the jump. It that happens, slow down your motion so he can ‘see’ the jump more– do the opposite as well: start right next to the cone, close enough to touch it, and wait there til he is done wrapping it… then drive forward so he learns to drive ahead of you to get the jump (also with the toy in your hand, not out ahead).
These are more complex, so you might need the other dog to be safely out of the way so there are no collisions 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She is doing well here! Yes, the connection is still super important but you are getting it more into your comfort zone and muscle memory, so she is doing better too! And also, like you mentioned: she is figuring out where to go so you don’t have to be as perfect.
There was only one connection ‘break’ (:14) where she had a question, and also she was a really good girl about not jumping up! That was a combination of clear reinforcement, clear connection, and she is beginning to understand the game 🙂Also yes – you are going to need your running leg now for Fast Forward Ruby. She is quick when she is figuring something out, but as soon as she knows it… zoom zoom super fast! And I think she is really getting the idea of it here 🙂
On your tunnel turn verbals – she is better turning to her right on the tunnel exit here. It might be that she is better at turning to her right, or there is no wing straight ahead, or both. On the left turn tunnel exits, if you were late (like at :26 or 1:23), she was wide. When you told her before she went into the tunnel, she had really nice left turn like at :56 – so keep telling her before she goes into the tunnel.
The rest of it looked great – she is getting really good at finding her line on those little racetracks after the left & right turn tunnel exits! Strong connection from you, plus she is looking for the wings, so she was fast AND did not jump up at all.
Great job!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Thanks for posting these! I think this was mainly her learning how to work through distractions (and not a handling error) – whenever she had to go towards the fence to get into the tunnel, you can see her lifting her head to look into the distance. When she turned away from the fence, she got the tunnel perfectly. So, when you see that happening, you can break things down into little tricks in front of the distraction, or wing wraps, and even letting her go explore for a minute so she could check it out 🙂 It is a good thing to work through an will be useful as she gets into busier situations.
TracyHi! He is definitely getting the idea!
He wants to move into position AND look at you, and he is quick enough to do both LOL! We want him to be looking at the ‘work’ and then after he arrives, he can look at you. It will look more like what he was doing one the reps at :39, :50 and 1:34. The way to get him to look at you less while moving into position is to take yourself out of the reinforcement picture as much as possible:
using the MM out ahead and releasing him to get the reward from it totally helps!
and, throwing the reinforcement in towards the target (not handing it to him) will help too. I use my catch cue for this: it means the reward is being tossed back to (ideally) between the front feet and he is allowed to move to get it (for when my toss is NOT good LOL!). That will help keep him looking at his work for where the cookie will land, and not at you as you step in to deliver the reward.And with those reinforcement strategies in mind – the next session should have you located anywhere *except* next to the end of the board. That can be moving past the boar, hanging back, moving away laterally, etc. Your feet can be anywhere except next to the target 🙂 That way, you can develop the independent behavior and make sure he is not relying on your feet as part of the cue to stop there.
>>. I didn’t make him do a down, but can still do that if it will help. Are we getting close to naming this thing yet?>>
Yes! We definitely can start naming it, after one more question: do you want the down as part of the behavior? If so, ask for it consistently so he understands, then you can name the behavior. If you don’t want the down and the stand is fine – then yes, name the behavior. I don’t think he needs the down, I think standing in position will be fine 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He is just learning the differences between the Elevator and the Bang Game LOL! I suggest going old school and leaving the cookies in his face for now – so from the moment you line him up and he needs to wait for you to grab the board, do the countdown, etc: cookie eating like he is licking an ice cream cone LOL!!!! When he recognizes the game, you won’t have to have the cookies in his face as much, and you will see him focus forward and weight shift during the countdown.But overall – he was great! He was trying to anticipate getting into target position because of all the bang game value, but as soon as he realizes there is more anticipation in this game, it will be easier for you 🙂 He didn’t seem concerned about the movement or drop at all. Super!!!! You can add a tiny bit more tip!
And bring your target to classes so that if you have the opportunity to do the bang or elevator game on a new teeter, you can squeeze in a couple of reps.
BWahahahahah about the 3rd hand haha!
>>For a fluffball he’s kinda heavy on a board.>>
For real! I think it has something to do with the density packed in closer to the edge. I am finding it easier to do this with Contraband who is probably 35 or 38 lbs than with Hot Sauce, who is the same size/weight as Kaladin (but sadly no fluff). I think the larger dogs have the weight distributed more evenly up the board and the smaller ones have it densely packed at the end. Little powerhouses!
Great job here!
TracyYay for a great session!! Boo for no video. I feel this: yesterday I did a great session of the final stages to build to a full teeter, including Elektra’s first ever full teeter. YAY!!! And when I went to turn off the camera… I never hit record. f*#$(%%ck! Oh well, I will try again today LOL!!!
I am glad Stark was fabulous on it! He is really progressing beautifully 🙂
T
Good morning!
Behold the magic of duct tape!
I also use random leftover masks as targets for Elektra. LOL!!! Mask + duct tape = target position. She is truly a pandemic puppy.He is doing well finding the position AND holding it while you move past! Good boy!
He likes to look at da momma while he is going into position. He will be more balanced riding it down if we can keep his heads straighter. He is quick – does it so fast that we can’t go faster than he does to try to get him to not look at you. He is totally fine to look for you after arriving in position, I just want to see if we can convince him to not look for you while moving into position. So, 2 ideas to keep him looking at his ‘job’ and less at you while moving into position:
As you move ahead of him, you can toss the reward back towards the target as he gets to position. I use my ‘catch’ cue, which means the cookie or toy is coming back towards him. Ideally, I magically get the reward to land on the target. But the catch cue means he can move when the throw is poopy. So the end result is he watches the target area more and me less 🙂
You can also have a reward target out ahead (bowl or toy on the ground or the MM if he is liking it again) – and sometimes release him to it.So the main reinforcement strategies will be throwing back or releasing ahead rather than trying to place the cookie on the target – and then it will be all about looking at the target and ahead, and not at your hands.
He seems SUPER confident here and was leaving you to start the game! Ha! So you can add a little more tip! I think you can also add the Elevator Game first steps, he will like that a lot based on his joyous attitude here!
Downhills – it took him a moment to realize that it was about the toys and to not look for cookies – but then he was much happier driving straight across! I agree – the last rep was great and I also like the 2nd to last rep (yes, he didn’t really stop on that one but he was not sure if he should stop – but you got a great reward in for driving all the way across the board.)
>>I think this is the setup I’m going to start with for Downhill all the way to the ground 🙂
Yes! I like it! He is very close to the ground here. I think the next step is to go to the lower PVC thingies on the teach it, so there is less of a visual as he is coming down the board. Go to the medium sized ones, then to the little ones. The visual of the PVC poles really helped Contraband get this game rolling and then it was easy to fade them.
Then onwards to more tip!Great job here!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
The uphill looked really good! He took a moment to get organized but then drove across the board beautifully! Was it just a one hit wonder session? I am really happy with how he drove up the board there.
Backing up – once he got started, he did a really good job! You can jump start the behavior in new places but having him in his 2o2o to start, then draw him forward (cookie lure :)) then let him offer leaning back. Then draw him all the way off, so he can back up. It is a good one to keep bringing to new places. My only suggestion is to be a couple of inches closer to the board, so when he backs up you can feed him closer to the edge of the board – that will produce a better weight shift. He was reaching forward a little here so changing your position a bit will fix that.
Downhills – so much good about the way you structured this session!!! Play – hop on and balance and eat the cookie. Down the board, food… then you got him the heck off the board (which is also pretty reinforcing and then the toy gets involved, which he enjoys, and that likely raises the value of the food and the drive across the board). So the behavior you got was pretty ideal, especially on that last rep: run fast down the board, head low and weight shift at the end (where he would be weight shifting in the target position). LOVELY! I think another session or two here like this, and then add some more tip! How is the end position going? He is very close to the downhills meeting the ground, so be sure to play with your bang game – the bang game and downhills are going to merge soon for him 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
He did a great job here, 100% finding the entry and making a nice bend down the line. The only miss was when he sent himself as you were changing positions, so you can use line up cookies to help prevent that.>Should I do another session making the entries harder with the same angle on the poles?>>
Yes – and also add your motion. Now that he recognizes the progression so well, you can mix in your motion right away. Rather than doing an entire session of sending, you can mix in sending and motion as you work all the angles. So one more session with these angles to be sure the harder entries and motion are all good (I am sure they will be) and then you can quickly progress to angling poles 3 and 4 (sends, motion, entries) then things will come together really quickly! You’ll find that the poles will tighten up pretty fast at this stage.
Great job!
Tracy
