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Hi!
Yes, we will do some games to help out with the commitment when you turn forward – it is one of the most common handling errors in dog agility (oopsie! We all do it) so we just train the dogs to save our bacon LOL!>> It is really hard to rev her up when she gets hot. I shoulda tried her ball maybe.
Yes – fewer sessions for a ball! And also I like to try to get the dogs out for big runs in the heat. Not agility… just running run run run run run 🙂 It helps that mine will chase each other, so you might need to borrow a dog LOL!! Your oldsters don’t need to do it, heat conditioning is for young dogs only.
I also teach mine to bark on cue to get them revved up and break through any potential stress. Sure, my life is a bit noisier right now, but totally worth it 🙂>>I hadn’t noticed how my timing helped her bend til you said that!! Gives me something to work towards.
Yes, her turns were LOVELY and the best turns that I have seen her do, ever! Yay!
>>Also should I be doing more verbals? She has a handful that I think she truly understands.
Yes, more words 🙂 Start with the ones you think she finds most helpful and then we will build from there!
Stay cool!
Tracy
Hi! These are going well – I think the wraps will be even better when there is more speed coming into them. With just 2 jumps, it is harder to get the real acceleration going – but you are doing a great job of showing an obvious transition into decel. When he had the refusal on the 2nd wrap on the first rep, it is possible that you turned just a tiny bit too soon, slammed on the brakes a bit too much… but we can teach him to cover you in the moments where you are a heartbeat too early (because otherwise it falls to you to be perfect all the time, which is impossible!) You did a good job of convincing him to take it (and then rewarding) in that moment – good dog training! You can warm him up before you do the sequence by stepping back to the jump with one foot and rewarding him for taking it – kind of a reminder that *any* indication nears the jump means to take the jump 🙂
The next 2 reps looked good on the wraps! As you exit the 2nd wrap, you are blocking the line to the backside (which is why he drove to whatever it was that you tossed out there on the 2nd rep LOL!) So as you step out of jump 3 to head to 4, anchor your running line from the wing of 3 that you can see and run towards the center of the backside bar (not towards the entry wing).>> I’d like to do some of the course work consistently at 10″ (not the drills but the actual courses). So far I’ve only put certain jumps at 10″ like the first jump or an extension jump. How do I prepare him for the increase to 10″ on wraps and backsides?>>
If he has been seeing the wraps and backside at 8″ thus far, you can pick a wrap (not a backside, those are harder) somewhere on a drill or sequence and put it at 10″. I would show it to him in th drills first a couple of times, then do the sequences. And, in all fairness considering the amount of multi-tasking the dogs have to do, show him that jump before you start the drill or sequence. I think he will be fine with it! When the easy jumps and wraps are fine at 10″, then add in a backside slice. If that is fine, add in a backside wrap (I think those are hardest :)) I don’t see any jumping issues happening, so it is a matter of just not surprising him as you ease the bars up to full height. We can make it a goal to have him consistently running courses at 12″ by the end of CAMP! And, if possible, be sure he sees massage people or body work people as you are doing this, so we can be sure he isn’t feeling any soreness at any point.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi! This went well, and I agree about getting the turn out of the last tunnel a little tighter. I thought rep 3 was the best one for that tunnel exit – which one did you like the best?
1st rep – You chose the fastest lines here and created a racetrack – nice turns on 1 and 6, but she could maintain extension the whole time. Speedy!!
The “right here” from 2 -3 worked well, it looked like she had a nice line to 3! You didn’t need it on the exit of 3 – it pulled her into you then you had to push her back out. She turns nicely on the exits of the tunnel #3 on this sequence because you are doing a spin on the entry and she sees it (you are close to the tunnel entry too, which helps her), so I don’t think she would consider driving away back to #1 – so all she likely needs here is a jump cue to get the best line, and then you can leave even earlier!
The RC to turn left at 6 worked really nicely! It st up a great line back to tunnel 8. Let her see you moving forward to the next line before she enters the tunnel there – she thought it was a straight exit based on the last thing she saw, so she went a little wide on the exit there.2nd rep went smooth on the 3-4 exit! And The RC on 6 also went well! You tucked in more on the tunnel exit, but I think she needs to see & hear a more aggressive turn cue on the entry – the rotation you did on the entry of 3 helps set a nice turn, so earlier rotation on 8 and also a verbal nice and early will help.
3rd rep – you turned right on 6 – she was a little wide because you were facing forward for a bit too long. When she lands from 5, you can be slowing down so you are rotating as she is passing you, which will set up an even tighter turn there at :10.
At :13 you were earlier on your tunnel rotation (definitely happened before she went in, she was at least 3 feet in front of the tunnel entry, yay!) and you made a big connection on the exit. She was still wider than I think she can be, which means there is still more info she would like. You can add your verbal to the timing of the turn rotation – well before she enters the tunnel (you can use a wrap cue instead of her name).The other option to tighten up that line is to send to 6 more to get further ahead back down the line, so you can be closer to the tunnel entry to show her the cue in a more up-close-and-personal fashion – then reward her for turning tighter.4th rep – handling 1-2 as a rc switch actually put you a little too far behind, and she was wide over 2. Good to know! You sent more to the RC at 6 and got closer ot the tunnel entry, which is great! So you can start letting her see the rotation even sooner – you might be facing forward too long for her, so she is seeing a lot of acceleration into the tunnel (and stimulating anyway :)) You probably don’t need to turn your shoulders quite as much to the tunnel entry – when you see her looking at it, you can start to rotate so she sees the rotation (and hears the verbal) while she is maybe 6 feet from the tunnel! It will be fun to play with how early you can show that while still getting commitment 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>> How much longer do we have to post? I just had cataract surgery, and it’s been raining like crazy!
Hope you are fully recovered from the surgery!!! We wrapped up on the 16th (CAMP started on the 15th); I am glad I checked in and found the serps!
>> I guess that’s not so uncommon with BC>>
Yes, a lot of dogs, particularly BCs, like to run parallel to our motion so driving in towards us on serpentines proves difficult for them in the early stages.Your body cues are looking good, this is more about the dog training element of it. He is doing really well on both sides on the one jump videos, so 2 ideas for you:
His turns are going really nicely, so you can isolate the driving-in element and have him come in, touch your hand… then throw a reward *behind* you so that it is more about driving towards you and not making the second turn away.
And, add motion now (rather than more angles) – start him on a slice and be walking slooowwwlllly the whole time, almost shuffling. You can have him come in and touch your hand while you are moving. Then keep adding motion so, eventually, you can run! When he is super happy to drive in to you, you can shift back to rewarding the second turn.On the sequence – when you ran it the first time here, it was too big of a leap forward for you to run, so he ran parallel. He did well with it when you were stationary, so the next step is to send to the tunnel from further away so you can be moving (slowly) the whole time. When you are not moving or barely moving, the sudden motion after the serp jump is what pushed him to the backside of the 2nd jump. So consistent steady motion will help! Angling the 2nd jump also really helped! As you add more motion to the serp jump, you can angle it towards him so it is easier to take (and harder to run past) – that way you are increasing the difficulty (by adding more motion) without adding too much difficulty on the jump. When you can run through the serp, it will then be easy to angle it flat again. I do recommend LOTS of verbals here – for now, name calling nice and loud. And don’t let Brenda scare him with the toy throws hahahah!
Nice work! The serps are coming along nicely!
TracyHi! Sorry for the delay, class wrapped up last week so I was just heading in to make sure I didn’t miss anything one last time.
Good job moving forward with the serps:
Reps 1 and 2 coming towards the camera looked good, he just needed one more step in towards the last jump which you gave him on the 2nd rep.
Going away from the camera towards the tunnel – 2 things will help get jump 3: run a very parallel line past jump 2 towards 3 (you were pulling away from it a bit and he was reading that motion). And, when he is taking 2 and you want to show 3: make a very strong, direct eye contact with him to show him the line. Looking forward turns your shoulders so he reads it like a blind cross and ends up behind you.>> with the SERP timing I can’t be too far ahead. I did notice on reps when he didn’t do the SERP it was because I did not indicate come in with my inside arm ( like on the last rep).
Yes, he is still learning the positional cue of the serp so openng up to help him come in with definitely help there on that last rep! Also, when there is that much motion and speed, he is more likely to run parallel – so being further ahead so you can not use toooo much speed yet is helpful for him too 🙂
The serps are coming along nicely! Great job!
TracyHi there!
I think both dogs looked really good and your connection looked really good throughout – of all the reps here, there was a grand total of one spot where I thought connection could be better (in one rep of Ti’s skills). Because those were so good, I will totally be bugging you about what your verbals mean, exactly 🙂 I couldn’t figure it out LOL! Particularly dig versus push. Josie is mainly reading body language because she is young, but Ti did ask a VERY valid question in his skills video (thanks, Ti :))
Here is more:
Josie’s skills video:
Push push backside wrap – she had trouble on the first rep when you tried to leave fast, good job dialing back the motion and rewarding on the next 2 reps. Be sure you aren’t blocking the wing on the circle wraps!Digdig at :42 – those turns were very similar to the push then at :51 it was a front side wrap, so what does the verbal mean? She turned really nicely on both so it is more about making sure you are consistent for the future when you might not be in the picture, physically, to help her as much.
At :51, rotate sooner so you are moving away as she is passing you – this will help get you up the next line sooner and also cue more collection when the bar is higher.At :56 and 1:01, you used push push push for a slice and then something different at 1:06 (it couldn’t quite hear what it was, maybe ‘around’?) The physical cues at :56 and 1:01 were very clear! At 1:06, you were out on her line so she took a wide line – try to run more in towards the center of the bar (you might need to add more distance between them to have time to do that :))
1:10 had post turns (backside and front side) so you can rotate sooner on both of them: send and turn on a sharper angle. You used a digdig cue on both here, but they are different turns, so I will keep bugging you about clarifying the verbals 🙂 Compare that to the next rep at 1:20, where dig dig was backside and then I think you cued a push but the turn/FC was the same as the dig dig cue. Then at 1:33 you had a right wrap on the front side (she was nice and tight zipping around it!) then a right backside slice (both were dig digs) then push push for a tight turn around the backside… to the right LOL!
Last rep – the FC wrap on the first wrap looked really good at 1:43! At 1:44 for the next wrap, you started to turn into her like you were going to do a spin then you opened up again – I think following through with the spin there will get you up the next line faster. Those were both digdigdig then you did a push push to the bacskide.
Ti:
He did a great job on these too, it was really easy to get him to turn! You can stretch the distances for him to add challenge for your timing. On the first backside wrap, he might need you to set up the collection a bit with a little bit a of an earlier cue – he turned but brushed the wing. So you can put pressure on that line sooner and see if it helps. The front side wrap at :12 and :18 was a little wide, you can turn as he is passing you to set up an earlier collection (he turns so well that the tip off there is that he hadn’t turned his head and had to adjust on landing of the jump).The backside push at :25 was a strong physical and verbal, but he didn’t engage his hind end on the jumping so pulled the rail, he seemed a little surprised? Maybe he hasn’t see a lot of backsides lately and needed a moment LOL! He did it again but to a lesser extent at :32 – so you can angle the bar so it is lower on the jumping side and have him come around the wing, sit, then takeoff to help him engage his rear.
Next rep at :41 – this was nice, he turned nicely, your connection was nice! Spread it out to see if you can do it with more motion too 🙂
On the FC at :59, rotate sooner. Even without a lot of motion, you will still want to be fully rotated as he takes off. At 1:02 he is lifting of and you are a bit sideways so he has to adjust on landing and is not sure of the next line. Then you can power out of the backside FC at 1:05 to show him the next backside sooner 🙂 He was polite and waited but we don’t want polite 🙂
Next rep at 1:15 – on the first 2 FCs, you are facing forward for a bit too long, so he ticks the 1st and 2nd bar (I like that he is honest LOL!). Then do more of an arm back connection as he comes around the wing at 1:18 – you were pointing forward so he got REALLY polite and slowed down to figure out the cue. Josie won’t be nearly as polite hahaha!At 1:34, 1:46 and 1:51, he asks a question about what digdig means – you wanted front but he took back – but digdig has been used for both so it was a valid question. At 2:22 you used it for a backside, so I can see where he was coming from LOL!
Ti Sequences:
Seq 1:
First rep: he had a little trouble on the slice a 2 for some reason, probably just the angle. You can turn and cue the tunnel at 3 sooner: he looked up at you waiting for info when he landed. He read the decel nicely so you can be calling tunnel before he lands there.
Because of the angle of exit on the tunnel, you can do a spin there to get up the line even faster (more useful on a full course). You did a post turn which takes longer to get out of. He turned nicely but I think he will be even tighter & faster with a spin!Seq 2: really nice opening line on both reps!! He turns nicely out of tunnels, so the name call on the first rep actually turned him too tight and he ended up on the wrong side of 3. The 2nd rep was perfect! Then one thing to note: because he naturally looks for you on tunnel exits, give him a big GO cue before the last tunnel and then accelerate and give a massive connection (keep yelling go) so he drives to the last jump without a little zig zag. You were clearer on the 2nd rep but he still had a little zig zag – feel free to be boisterous!
Josie Sequences:
Opening line 1-2 looked good! Commitment to 3 was good – you can give a left cue and turn sooner. You were facing forward as she took off and you deceled nicely so she collected, but decel then turn so she can power out on the landing (she slipped a little making th adjustment there). Then I think you had carry over from the otehr sequence and pushed her to the next jump – but that is fine and she got rewarded 🙂Seq 2: She has a lot of giddy up and the bars are low: so the challenge is for you to maintain the excellent connection here and the strong running lines… while you run faster 🙂 You were being a little careful and it slowed you down, so she asked questions. Better to run fast and risk the connection break 🙂 You can lead out more (her stay looked great!) and then accelerate immediately to 3 (she smoked you a little there, so while she got it, there wa sa zig zag line). If you can get to 3 sooner, you can leave for 4 and turn sooner so she lands facing the tunnel – then use your tunnel send to cue it then leave for the ending line. When she entered the tunnel at :20, you were still supporting it and I don’t think she needs that 🙂 It put you behind for the tunnel exit to the last jump. And also use your loud GO GO GO to help propel her up the line.
So with both of the dogs on the sequences: your connection looks great, your handling choices are spot on! Now… push more and drive them 🙂 Trust the commitment, cue and leave (while staying connected of course!)
Great job here! Let me know what you think (especially about Josie’s verbals :))
Tracy
Hi there! Good stuff on this video!!
She does have a little trouble driving by your rotation (1st rep), so the reward on the 2nd rep (nice and early) set up for a really lovely 3rd rep and 4th rep! You can also lead out less to show more acceleration into it, that can help with commitment. She turns really nicely so that is not a worry at all!
On the backside at :42 – you are connected a bit down to your side and not driving ahead as much – I think you can drive out of jump 3 more and then turn up the connection as she is maybe halfway between the 2 jumps (these have a lot of distance there) – the acceleration will help with commitment there too! You had more acceleration forward (less sideways) and a clearer connection to her at :54 and it helped!Sequence 1:
You have a good grasp of the sequence and connections and lines, which means yo uare walking it really well for that… now add in walking with the verbals said out loud a few times – my guess is you aren’t rehearsing those enough which is why her name and “go” are the ones that pop out under pressure 🙂
On the first rep, lead out a little less on that big distance so you can show acceleration the whole time – that way you won’t have to slow down then speed up again, and she won’t see deceleration as she enters the tunnel (it caused her to look at you on the exit more than needed). You had a good jump cue on jump 3 and that is one to use rather than GO on the turns. It can mean ‘take it in mild collection’ which will work nicely on 3 and 4. The Go cue is appropriate on the tunnel to the last jump, so plan to yell go go go and not her name there.It was interesting that she went past the jump at 1:23, she was really unsure. Hard to tell at this angle, but my guess is she needs to see that slightly angled release on a lower bar more and get rewarded for it (she was still not totally confident on the next rep or at 1:44) and then you can raise the bar again.
Rep 3 and 4 – the physical cues look good here! It is now a matter of hashing out the verbals – you had a GO on 2-3-4 on rep 3 (but quiet on rep 4, which worked nicely) but then went to digdigdig on 4 to the tunnel… is that a wrap cue or a soft turn cue? It was “here” on the first rep of this sequence 🙂 She looked at you there, asking if it was a wrap cue. Great job committing her to the tunnel then driving up the line! I have a challenge for you: to do all of these sequences with using her name at all 🙂 She almost never needs her name, and you called it here on a straight line. So, try to break the habit of the name calls and replace them with informational cues, like obstacle names or directionals.
Overall, the physical cues and connections on the sequence work really look strong! That is why I can bug you about the verbals 🙂 If you can match the verbals to your strong physical cues and connections… well that would be the icing on a perfect cake!!
>>Yes, I have the same verbals, but they are very weak.
That is great, even if they are weak: it is MUCH easier to remember just one set of verbals for both dogs, and they will get stronger with Wilson as you use them more (and I will keep bugging you to use them more LOL!!)
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi there! Nice work on these!
Sequence 1:
Hooray for a nice lead out so you don’t have to sprint at the moment!
Question: what does your chchch noise mean in terms of how much collection you are asking for? I think you were using it for the wraps on the skills, so you don’t need to use it here at 3 – just a soft ‘left’ or shoulder turn will do it – you dug in a little and actually got too much collection there.
He loved the ending line where you called and left! You can call him one stride sooner before he enters the tunnel so he is already turned when he exits, rather than turning after the exit.Sequence 2:
I think he needs to see that 1-2 line again – it is a hard slice and he pulled the rail. You started saying the tunnel cue as he was jumping, so that might be the contributing factor (distracting verbal) – you can work it as a one jump skill and reward him for keeping the bar up when you talk while he is jumping.At 4 on this sequence – this didn’t quite have enough of a turn cue as he was coming in from 3, so he went a bit wide. Some decel and a soft turn cue after he lands from 3 should be the perfect middle ground.
He had a question about the go on at the end at :24 but I think it was mainly because you couldn’t run hard – so, for now, throw the reward really early so he doesn’t get in a habit of jumping up on you while you are protecting your knee,
Seq 2 again: he did a great job on 1 here with you talking – bar up! Good boy.
That 4 jump is the hardest part here 🙂 When he landed from 3, he heard a lot of stuff: yes over chchchch and as he took off, you were facing straight (:34) so the bar came down. We need to smooth out the info for him with the more specific verbal and earlier shoulder turn.
Great job getting away up the line after the tunnel sooner, to support the go to the last jump! You can throw the reward here so he doesn’t try to stick with you on the Go cue.Seq 3: This was my favorite of your runs! Great job! You had your connection and your verbals and your feet pointing the right way at all times, he nailed it and was fast and happy. Nice!! You did have a little bit of ‘ready’ before the first wrap 🙂 When you walk the next set of sequences or re-do these, walk it with the directional verbals only, his name, or obstacle cues. try to get rid of cheering or ready – he doesn’t need those, he is doing great!!
Well done 🙂 Keep protecting that knee!!!
Tracy
Hi! I am glad your knee was not too angry with us! Yay!! Keep being careful though, no one is allowed to get hurt at CAMP 🙂
These went well and he offered really helpful info! I don’t think the errors were a lack of focus on his part, I think it was a lack of understanding of the commitment when the connection was too soft. We will *definitely* work on that! More below:
1st rep – he had an oopsie at 2 when you looked forward too much on landing so he went into handler focus (this is common as dogs are learning commitment). When that happens, in that moment, re-cue the jump then throw a reward for taking it so he can learn to save you (because while I will try to bug you to always have perfect connection, I also understand how lovely it is when the dogs commit even when we are not perfect :))
2nd rep – still had a disconnection as you looked forward a little, but you were less abrupt on the rotation and stayed there longer which helped commitment.
He had an oopsie at 3: as you left 2, your running line and connection did not really indicate 3 (for a dog that is a year old. I am pretty sure Wager would have taken it but when Wager was young, he would have jumped on your back there). In that moment, show the jump to him again on that angle for the front side then reward. To get him to take it, more connection to his eyes will help – to get that, have your dog-side arm back more, hand pointing to his nose. It was down beautifully but at your side, which contributes to softening the connection more than he can handle at this stage of training.3rd rep and 4th reps had similar issues with a stronger connection being helpful, and the arm further back will also help.
Good job showing what you wanted then rewarding at :26!5th rep – much more connection, happy dance! – reward it 🙂 The around backside was good but you can reward him getting the front of 3 on the first attempt there.
Skill 7 video – this looked really good! Check out how clear your connection was here (you can still move your dog-side arm back more as opposed to down at your side). And on the way to the backside- you can start the backside verbal sooner (you were saying ready ready and he was like, I am totally ready, what is next? LOL!)
Skill 8 video – this is also looking good – you had better connection and more motion 1-2, which helps with commitment. You are definitely getting into the habit of ‘ready ready’ before each handling cue, which is actually delaying the cues 🙂 Your connection and running lines were good so see if you can go right into the verbals and not use the ready ready (he is ready hahahaha!)
Great job here! Onwards to the sequences!
TracyHi!
>>I started a thread earlier in the week but I don’t know what happened to it so I’m starting another one.
It might be on page 2 – you can scroll down to find the different pages.
Nice work on these videos! Little suggestions for you:
rep 1 and 2: backside commitment and connection look great! One suggestion – Your the lead out line and release motion should support the backside line immediately. You were leading out on the front side line, releasing, and then when he landed you were pushing to the backside – so he had a zig zag on these between 1 and 2. You can show the motion as soon as you step away from him in the stay, even before the release, as long as he is lined up to easily take 1 (which looked good here). The verbal doesn’t need to start until landing of 1 but the motion can start before the release.
rep 3 – wrap – great connection and verbal! The physical cue was almost perfect – add in deceleration between the release and the rotation. You released and run and rotated… but while rotated, still moving forward pretty quickly so he turned but had to adjust on landing at :38 to make the really tight turn. Compare it to rep 4 at :45 – you showed an exaggerated decel and then rotated – he approached the jump really differently and had a much better turn! He did not have to adjust on landing, he could just power out of it. Yay! That decel made a big difference to him for sure.
2nd video, continuing the discussion of wrap cues:
the first rep did not have the decel, you were rotating but moving forward with speed, so he was a little wider (adjusted on landing) and barked at you. It gives us even more insight into the importance of the decel for him, and how early rotation is not important. Good to know! The ‘right’ at the end of this clip was lovely.Video 3:
>>It seemed to me that set 4 and 5 were the same?
Yes, my mistake, sorry!!
This video is marked unavailable (probably listed as private) can you relist so we can see the fun 🙂
Video 4:
This was cool to see decel versus no decel:
on the first wrap – decel then rotate, gorgeous. And you didn’t even exaggerate the decel, you just slowed then rotated and he nailed it. 2nd wrap: also a good transition but one step late so he was one step wider than the wrap on jump 2 here. You can also exaggerate that exit line connection so he can drive around super tight. Backside looked great! You can play with sending him to the backside from further across the bar – you run more towards center of the bar (as opposed to running to the entry wing) and then use your upper body/verbal/connection to get him to the backside. Great connection through the backside!Video 5:
This was also cool to see – first wrap was good and 2nd wrap you had a clear decel before the rotation – very nice! It is becoming 2nd nature – big steps then smaller steps then rotating) and he is turning well! The backside looked good here, so as with the video 4 suggestion: send from further across the bar 🙂Video 6: you are totally getting the hang of that small decel before rotating to set the wrap turns! This one has the wrap to the right that the 3rd rep had… but you were making a much prettier transition so his turn was much nicer. Yay! As he exits the wraps, call his name more so he can drive to you really hard out of them.
>> I have a bad habit of running inside the wing to cue turns and affecting his running line so I need to work on that!
Yes – You can see a bit of that where I mentioned you were too close to the entry wing of the backside on the previous reps, and or sure it happened here at the end – definite over-helping hahaha! So you can work on running more towards the center of the bar on the backsides. Bear in mind that it is not ideal to turn and look ahead for where the center of the bar is 🙂 so you will need to ‘anchor’ your running line off of a spot on the previous jump. You can see that spot while staying connected to him, and pretend there is an invisible line from that spot to the center of the bar – you will run on the invisible line and be able to cue the backside without breaking connection. Let me know if that makes sense.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>> I worked on that as well as being PATIENT, and looking at her eyes!
You definitely get a gold star for both, especially the being patient part LOL!! That is so hard for me LOL!!!
>> I think #3 was my favorite.
I agree – and I think the stopwatch agrees too 🙂 Here is more:
Very nice first run! She looks much better on the backside wrap! We can do 2 things to play with that backside wrap – you can soften your push arm so it moves a little but you don’t need to draw as much of a circle for her as you did here at :03. The reason I suggest less arm is so you can leave sooner – by drawing the circle for her, you are still there when she lands and a bit on her line, so she goes a little wide to 4. Am I nit picking? Yes! LOL!! But mainly because we can shave time there and go even faster.
The other thing on exiting the backside wrap is to get ahead by maybe just one step or two, so you can send to 4 and leave like you did on reps 2 and 3. You had spectacular sends on those reps (FOR REAL!!!) and you got MILES ahead, so she was incredibly fast and then you could smoothly do the rear or go straight. I bet you could have gotten a blind cross on rep 2 isntead of a rep cross between 6 and 7 if you wanted it, you were SO far ahead – note how she didn’t even have time to share her opinins on the ending line of rep 2 or 3 (well, she shared her opinion when she landed at the end, and I think she said WOW!)
Ok, back tracking to the beginning of reps 2 and 3:
The threadle to the circle on 2 worked well! But… I timed it and it was slower than the backside wrap (rep 1) and the slice from the other side (rep 3). So you can keep working it to see if you can stay a little closer to jump 3, it might be that you moved away a step to set it up? I personally think that these lines are always a little slower (I like to time things a lot), so they are best used when there is no other option.On rep 3, you tried the slice on jump 3: this was FAST and might be the winning line if you make one tweak: don’t do as close to the entry wing of the backside so you can be a little more ahead and off her line when she needs it coming around the wing of 3 to 4 (she told you about it there too :)) Try to send from the center of the bar or even on the exit wing of 3. When I timed rep 1 versus rep 3, they were just about even – so if you can get away from the entry wing and off the line a little, I think this will end up being fastest 🙂 But it is very cool that she can execute both skills (wrap and slice) so well that they are almost equal: that is unusual!!
Rep 4 – the threadle/slice (switch) on 3 is also a good skill to own! You can probably take one more step to the jump for now on the switch cue, she seemed to question a tiny bit. She was coming around that exit wing pretty darned tight, so you might not have needed the come cue there (it didn’t look like she was going to take the wrong side of 4.)
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Big progress on your push cues on the skills sets! He is going to the backside from more of a distance for sure – I see the difference here! You were moving up the parallel line and and not having to shove your foot to the backside to help him. And when he was on your right, it seems like you were even a little further away. Yay!! You are cueing it correctly 🙂 As he gets to the backside slice, if you takeoff with too much speed, he is running past the bar. So, for now, move away with less speed. That was when he was most successful 🙂 And keep rewarding that skill for sure 🙂 This session looked good (I will head over to CC2 after I finish up here LOL!)
>> I abandoned the threadle as I think it was just too much
Yeah, that was a good decision! You can work on the threadle as a one jump game – but also, it is kind of a low priority (definitely lower priority than backsides!) We have a ton of time to get him to be proficient on threadles before you need to actually use them anywhere 🙂 So you can work on the front side and backside commitment, and we will add threadles in at some point 🙂
>>I am guessing it will just take time before I will be able to be on the other wing and just use the verbal like you do with Voodoo.
Yes – Voodoo is 7 years old and I also worked him extensively on this skill using my opposite arm to cue it. For a couple of years. Possibly for longer than Watson has been alive! Watson is not even 2, right? I think he is younger than Hot Sauce… who will be 2 in July. So Hot Sauce is a better frame of reference – she cannot do backsides like Voodoo can either hahahahaha 🙂 You are on exactly the right path with Watson!
Great job here!
TracyHello and welcome, so happy to see you here 🙂
>> due to all of the travelling involved with my job I have not been able to travel to agility tournaments on weekends as well.
I guess the good news of these crazy times is that you can do agility tournaments at home or with your training group!
Charlee and Dikkens sound like so much fun 🙂 Check out the class overview, and you will see how they can each get turns working. You don’t have to choose just one. And Gidget sounds terrific – I love Rat Terriers!
>> My question is my A frame is broken and I have to purchase a new one. Right now looking around for a used one. Is it possible in the exercises to substitute a dog walk as the contact.
No problem! You can substitute just about anything: a dog walk ( you would stretch out the course because of the length difference between the frame and the DW) or anything you have access to: a jump or two, a straight tunnel, a teeter, even 6 weaves! We can be completely flexible so you can still get tons of training in 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi there!
Lots of great stuff on your skills work here!!! Here are some thoughts and ideas:
Using a wing on backside jumps will make it easier for her jumping effort and also allow you to send and leave sooner on the backside. It is not as important on the front side wraps.
video 1:
1st rep – good push to the backside, you can try to leave sooner! She read it really well.
2nd rep – At jump 1, you can line her up on the slice for jump 1 so she is facing backside and doesn’t do a zig zag to it when she lands from 1. Good job leaving sooner on the backside and very nice connection on exit!3rd rep – nice timing on the dig dig wrap (yay for the verbal too) and nice connection exiting it! You are showing excellent connection on the exits of your crosses and backsides.
Compare it to rep 4 at 1:18: on rep 3, you were handling Winnie: connected and clear! On rep 4, you were handling jump 2, very connected to jump 2 LOL!! So she was looking at you because she was unsure of what to do and then didn’t take the jump. In the video, you said it was ‘too hard’ but I think more connection is all she needed there.
Much much better connection at 1:44 and she took the jump of course 🙂 Now, let’s obsess on timing 🙂 On rep 3, at :54 – she was just getting ready to pass you and was still maybe just past landing of jump 1 and you were starting the verbal and rotation – great turn! On rep 5, you started the rotation as she was taking off for jump 2 at 1:42 and I don’t think there was a verbal cue – so it was a little late and she jumped wide. Even on the bigger lead outs, you can start the verbal and rotation at the same time as you did at :54.Compare it to rep 6 at 1:45 – YES! Connection plus earlier cue got a LOVELY turn, look at your girl bending there! Yay! Just add the verbal for complete perfection.
Then stay connected, though, to show her the next jump at 1:49. You had the connection as she came around jump 2, but then looked forward and turned your shoulder so she didn’t take 3. You can revisit a bit of ‘lazy’ handling and just walk past jumps with minimal connection to remind her to take them even when you aren’t perfectly connected.
You had all the elements on that last rep! Connection, timing on the wrap, connection to 3 and then a strong clear connection to the backside and after the cross! Excellent rep!
2nd video:
1st rep – nice wrap on 2! I think a spin on 3 will tighten up the turn 3-4 or an earlier send and go. You rounded the corner there, creating a curve so she went a little wide. The backside looked good!2nd rep – the backside pushes were really good on this one (at the beginning and on the last jump). I think she was hot so she was letting you get away with being late on the wrap cues at 2 🙂 Remember to use the lovely timing from the previous video and also from rep 1 here.
3rd rep – this sequence looked good from the handling side of things – connected and timely. The bar came down at 2 – my guess is that she was hot and just didn’t jump high enough. You can work the skills stuff at 4 inches so she can go fast and stay cooler longer, in the summer heat 🙂
4th rep – she did a much better job on the bar on this rep – I don’t think she enjoys knocking bars, so she really put in a big effort to keep it up. Good girl!! Then you broke connection a little and she didn’t take the next jump… I have custom skills sets coming out starting tomorrow, and yours is going to be able convincing her to commit even when you aren’t perfect in your connection! You over-helped a little there at 1:21 and got the backside, but that is better than her not taking it.
The last rep looked great! The rotations were easy for her to read and your connection was strong. On the hot days, put the bars all the way down so she can push you with her speed, more like what she was doing on the first video 🙂Great job on these, I am happy with the skills! Keep reminding yourself of the timing: she turns BEAUTIFULLY when you are early on the turn timing. Connection is looking strong and we will add in the games to get her to stay on her line when you turn your shoulder or head too early.
Tracy
