[Tracy Sklenar]

She makes me smile every time she works – you said ready ready on the first and she took off for the tunnel like a greased watermelon – I guess she was ready LOL! Her tunnels looked great in general, excellent commitment! She had a little question at 1:05 when she was on the inside – I think part of it had to do with your right foot pointing at one end of the tunnel and your left foot pointing at the other end, and part of it had to do with her not realizing that she could turn away from you to get into the tunnel. But as soon as she figured that out – perfect! And fast. When you do the inside sends, be sure both of your feet are pointing forward to the side of the tunnel you want.
She loves the jolly ball! I can’t remember if I mentioned this to you or not, apologies if it is a duplicate – you might want to get her a giant holee roller toy for her to scoop up at high speed. She is coming at the jolly ball with such speed and drive that she might pound her shoulders too much.

One more thought about looking at the target – I suggest that to help the dogs lock onto the target and drive to it. She is doing a great job of driving to the target, so no need to worry too much about looking at the target earlier than you did. You can basically just follow her eyes and you’ll be fine.
Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Both games here are looking great – she is super fun to watch!! Parallel path looks awesome!! She is going to be FAST. Great job gettig your rewards in early, I think she was looking ahead beautifully. You can add challenge to this now by starting with her – to see if she will drive ahead of you (and then throw the reward). We will be building on this game later in the class, and she is nailing it, so you can try this little tweak to add a little more challenge for her.

On your strike a pose game – this is also going well! Yes, you can look at the target sooner – as soon as she finishes the treat and turns towards you, look down at the target. However – she did a great job herem banging into the target with such gusto that I thought she was going to shake her brain LOL! Good girl! So you can emphasize the turn to the reward at this point, telling her to get the right just as her nose is hitting the target. On this game, it is perfectly ok if she slows down as she approaches you, because we will want that slowing down when we add the jump into it.

Great job on these!!
T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there! Tons of good stuff on the video!!

>>Anyway, it’s hard for puppy to see kibble when throwing it so I’m thinking (if you think it’s okay) to just start him from a sit/stay or have Kevin hold him when I can. His sit/stay is pretty freaking good (thank you crate games).>>

Yes – indoors it didn’t seem to be a problem, but definitely harder outdoors. You can use the stay like you did, or Kevin (or any human, it is a great socialization game). You can also use a food bowl with one cookie in it to send to to start the game. Or, a manners minder! That is especially useful if you are planning on doing running contacts 🙂

>>I think the heat affected him some. We only stayed out for 10 mins and that was long enough.

Yes, his tongue got ginormous! It is hot, and he has not yet been alive in this much heat!

The sandwich games look really good – he does indeed have a great stay!!! My dogs could barely listen to your video with your ‘ready ready’ and he was Mr. Perfection LOL!!!! Nice job back and forth from driving to you and driving away. And the transition when you go from a ‘catch’ cookie to calling him into the game looked really good, so maybe in the house he is better at finding the treat as a ‘catch’ cookie because he can track it better, and ‘catch’ is paired with an immediate resumption in the game? Either way – the indoor game looked good. Food to toy looked really nice! He was super responsive on the blinds and got right on your hand for the turns.
On the toy “get its”, remember to move forward so he gets used to you also running forward as you say go go go. When you are outdoors, you will be able to really run run run 🙂

Outdoors – I call that the testicle toy, so of course he will hump it LOL!

>>>> On one of the first reps outside, he blew right past me. ha! we got a little better after that but he still went wide. I think that is due to some of my body positioning. >>

Yes, the mechanics are harder outdoors because everyone involved is moving faster. Indoors, you were pretty perfect with your collection hand and outdoors it was more random. On thing you can do is not emphasize your hands as much on the blind crosses – you were connecting and pumping your hand, then blinding and pumping your hand. You can just make eye contact (I don’t think he needs the hands there at this point) and then it will be easier to decel and get the collection hand down to him.
You did a GREAT job of driving out with the GO toy here in the big outdoors!
And yes, he is a crackup, going splat on his side and then not realizing that the toy was the Catch reward LOL!!! I think he was hot at that point, and/or thought catch only applies to cookies 🙂
He was a hot baked bhippet by the 3 minute mark – mine gets floppy too in the heat 🙂 He did a good catch of the toy but then I think he was just too hot to want to do a lot of chasing a dead toy (the moving toy is more stimulating, so he couldn’t help himself on those and drove to it and also it is easy to eat in the heat).

>>He had some questioning about the catch cue outside, but I’m not so worried about that at this point in time.>>

You can play with the catch with a toy indoors or first thing in the morning when he isn’t hot and see if it was the heat? Or if he doesn’t realize that catch + toy = release to get it? Could be either, it will be interesting to see! I use a game similar to this with a toy as a trial prep thing, and I plan to introduce the game later on in this class – it has been incredibly helpful in getting Hot Sauce to transition into trials with confidence and focus on the start line (at least, back in the olden days when there were trials to go to :))

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! The foot target on the parallel path only seems slightly random LOL! I think when you are moving, you are getting a bit of a ‘trot across’ targeting, kind of like the beginning of running contact mat targeting. When you are stationary or decelerating, it is more of a definitive paw smack. That is actually *perfect* for our need here – the parallel path on a jump is more in motion, and the wrappy stuff like the countermotion is more decelerated (and he has to decelerate and weight shift to give the paw smack). So, on the parallel path, I think it is fine to mark/reward the touches even if they are not as smack-like as when you are decelerated – they are showing understanding of the ‘find your line’ concept relative to motion that we are building up. You can start with a little less motion and staying closer to it, to get higher quality touches on the move, but don’t worry about anything that is a pounce or requires a weight shift while you are in motion.

>>I did some work with the hand target and they toy in my hand and after the first rep it went beautifully!!!>>

Yes!!! This is was great! We are getting the line of body that we want on serpentine/threadle behavior (the in-then-out). Very nice!!!!! The next step is to reduce the target size, so it is easier to fit into your palm (we begin fading the target on Saturday :)) He did really nicely ignoring the toy in favor of the target, then driving to it. Well done!!!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Hopefully others will chime in here –
a hula hoop is a fun one! You can prop it up or hold it. Or, a tire on the ground.

Depending on how big your pup is, I have also taken a garbage pail and and cut off one end of it, so it is a barrel that is open on each side. Then put pool noodles around the entry and exit, and glue a bath mat or rubber mat to the floor so it is not slippery – and then you have a homemade tunnel 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there!

>>his week’s technology fiasco is that my iPad thinks my headphones are plugged in even when they are not. I didn’t connect that problem with what would happen when recording. I have no sound! So just imagine me giving perfectly timed verbal cues, okay?>>

I was reading your lips, the verbals were all perfect LOL!!!

>>Not sure if I want someone else touching my iPad right now and I have tried all the online suggestions to fix the problem, to no avail.

I just sent my iPad off for a screen repair (ipad meets concrete is VERY BAD for ipad). I plan to give is a full disinfectant protocol when it gets back!

On the video:
Seq 1: really nice!!! He is committing really nicely!
Your connection overall looks really good. Remember to stay connected to his eyes on the landing of the serp jump at #4 – at :07 you looked forward so he was a little wider there compared to :16 where you were more connected.

Seq 2 – he is getting the idea of threadles! He still needs a little help but the threadle at :31 is looking good!
At :40 you over-helped 🙂 by rotating and pulling away and stopping your motion, so he came all the way in and didn’t know where to go back out to (compare it to :29 where your feet kept moving forward).
At :52 and 1:51, you had much better footwork (in terms of not rotating) but you did a clear decel – so he came off the line.
We don’t want him to ignore decel but we also don’t want him to think decel is the threadle cue – so keep moving forward on your threadles, but for now don’t move *fast* yet. If you are walking through them, he is more likely to be able to read the upper body and hear the verbal and then you won’t need to turn your feet or stop moving.

At 2:08 you were closer to the line and in motion better, so he read it pretty nicely there! Yay!

On the tight wraps:

>>Also, I just have difficulty getting tight wraps. What is it? Why does he jump long even when I am stationary? What can I do to help him?>>

On one jump there, I think he was starting a little too close and when you stepped in, he took off longer based on that motion. Starting him further away (10 feet or more) will give him time to set up the collection better while you show him standing still or being rotated.
Also, some of it could have to do with how he was originally taught as a puppy – what games did you use to help him turn really tight, back on wings or cones? There might be something we can add to the foundation to help him. I notice he doesn’t turn his head until after he lands from the tight turns, so the head turn games from the June 22 custom skills sets will definitely help! If we can get the head turned, the body will follow 🙂

Sequence 3:
He is reading the serpentine jump after the tunnel really nicely! Be careful about rotating too early for the FC on the jump after it – at 2:17 you were a little early and he hesitated. At 2:29, you were not as early but without a deceleration into it, it points your feet to the other wing – and that can dilute your rear cross cue. The very last one at 2:54 was a little late, so remember to decel as he is landing so then you have maybe one more step before rotating for the wrap.

Since I can’t hear the verbals, so maybe you were trying to do a RC there? I am wondering because you did a BC on the landing of the serp jump after the tunnel and turned him to the left on the next jump (2:41), which sets up a really good line!! You did a spin on that jump – you will want to start the FC element of the spin sooner, so when he lands you are finished with the BC to get him on your right for the jump before the tunnel. At 2:42 when he landed, you were finishing the FC so he had a zig zag line thinking he needed to come all the way in to you. The other option which can work really nicely with him is a send and go there – will get a great turn and might get you up the line sooner for the next serp jump 🙂

Speaking of that serp jump – try to keep your shoulders open to it for longer – each shoulder should line up parallel to/facing a wing – you were turning away and being more perpendicular to the bar. The center of your chest should face the center of the bar. That will help get the sweetest line back out to the tunnel and will also help maintain commitment when you push him to the backside like at 2:31 (you tried to pull away too soon, so he ended up on the other side of the jump).

Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>Wilder has poor depth perception – it shows up in daily tasks like walking up different flights of stairs or climbing up the patio stairs. He misjudges the depth of the steps. That translates to knocked bars in agility when he takes off too early. He does better when I keep an eye on him when we are parallel but in distance work when I can send him ahead he does much better.

That is really interesting and good to know! I find that dogs with poor depth perception will rush the takeoff when the handlers are ahead, so we try to keep the handler within a certain “bubble” – maybe 6 feet ahead, at most? Or 10 feet? It depends on the dog. It is something we can play with to see where the best distance is and then how to gauge your lines to be able to maintain it. When he is sent on away or ahead of you, it is possible that he doesn’t need to multitask where you are AND where the jump is, so he does really well in those situations because he only needs to think about the jump. Is that something you have noticed with him?

>>Lit’l Bit is still in PT but she is improving. She is full of herself and working off her energy in scent trials which don’t require stress on the body. She is treated by Dr. Faith Lotsikas at Skylos in Maryland – great staff.>>

Glad to hear that Lit’l Bit is feeling better!!! I have heard GREAT things about Dr. Faith and the staff at Skylos.

On the video: Glad to hear the downed trees were removed! We are all hoping for cooler weather ahead (and I am ignoring the big storm heading up the East Coast soon…)

I think your walk through looked strong and your handling plan also looked good! Your last walk through had a different handling plan than the actual run on the first run. I think maybe the difference was in that he takes longer in the tunnel than you practiced in the walk through, so it threw you off in the run – you switched to a FC on a different line 4-5 at 2:51 (which threw off the rhythm heading to 6 too) and then a blind cross 8-9 at 3:04 (bar down at 10).

When I look back at the difference between the last walk through and the run, the main thing I see is that with the big tunnel to go through, you gauged your lines differently going into the BC 4-5 and into the RC 8-9. I think your choices were both really good choices there – so you can go in closer to the tunnels (especially longer tunnels) to be able to set up the next line without getting too far ahead.

I agree about the disconnect on the bars being a contributing factor to the bars on this first run – the sun glare at 6 made it really hard to see! And on 10, you were ahead and looking forward and pulling away – too much for him to multitask AND sort out a good takeoff. So in the planning process, you can add extra connection in the walk throughs as a reminder to be super connected when you are ahead, and also to stick closer to the line near the jumps so he can easily see that connection in that 6-10 foot ‘bubble’.
On the 2nd run – you were really clear on the lines there, I think you had the rhythm of the timing through the tunnel there plus you had reminded yourself not to get too far ahead – so the lines and connection were much better! The only spot he needed more connection was on the way to 3. I think your original plan on 4-5 of the BC can still work beautifully with you going deeper into the tunnel so you are not too far ahead then strong connection in and out of the blind.
The rear cross at the end on the 8-9 section was really nice! You gauged your lines pretty much as you had walk them, and you were patient and connected. NICE!!

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
Sorry to hear about your mother; sending all of my thoughts for a fast recovery and for safe travels for you. I am glad it is not Covid!!

On the disconnection video:

Yes, definitely easier from the stay! And the little arm cue helped her find 2!
Of course, we don’t want to run without connection if we can help it 🙂 but this will help her find lines in those moments when you are perhaps less than perfect 🙂

On the walk through/run:
This is a wicked hard assignment with a youngster, because as you found out: we can plan plan plan and then anything can happen LOL!! I feel that – note how I did the demo with the adult dog and not the baby dog 🙂 Handling baby dogs is not always a reflection on your walk through skills, because the youngsters still need a lot more support than an adult dog would need – So if you want feedback on your walk through from a dog and do the side-by-sides or overlays, 2 ideas for you – you can do the full walk through like you did here (really nice walk through!!!) and then run it with Pippin as a whole course (to compare to the walk through) then break it down to train with Lanna. And, with Lanna, you can isolate a section (like the opening of this one, or the middle line, for example) and walk it with baby dog needs in mind, and run it with her in pieces. I am open to either/both possibilities – as you know, it is two completely different approaches for the experienced professional dogs and the young baby rising stars 🙂
Either way, no rush – you can catch up without pressure after you are back from CO. We can be watching videos and obsessing until whenever is needed so everyone can get whatever they want done 🙂

Your walk through was really strong. I liked seeing your plan develop, in terms of both which moves, and then when and where to do them. It is not the easiest novice course! Some small details to consider as you plan and execute your walk through:
That #9 jump is a doozy, probably the hardest post on the course. Your original thought appeared to be to slice it, which I believe is the fastest line. Then it looks like you discarded that in favor of the wrap, because maybe it felt like you were getting in too deep and would not be able to get up the line for 11? So you can play with staying further away positionally to be able to get the slice and still get 10-11-12.
The wrap works well there, so as you plan that wrap (and the one at 14) remember to decelerate into it, be connected as you exit it and be as close to her perfect path as you can be.
And also add a little more exit line connection 12-13 as you finish your cross.
Everything else looked very clear!!!

On the run –
your handling on the very first rep was good! But she needed the baby dog version of it: more connection before the release and mayeb a shorter lead out. That is more of what you did on the 2nd rep nd she found the line much better! Then baby dog inexperience showed – she needed more conneciton and more motion to exaggerate the line to 4 and 5.

Great job getting her on track through the double tunnels (6-7-8) with a lot of connection and not running as fast, which set up a REALLY nice wrap at 9 at :43!
Baby dog moment on the way to 11- you were pulling away and raising an arm, so she came off the line. Good decision to keep going, and she picked up the line 12-13-14 nicely! You had a little disconnect wrapping 14, so she started to look for your line and then she went to check out the bird nest.

So her run didn’t really reflect your walk through, but it does give us good insight into how much connection she needs right now on the big courses (especially in distracting barns) – TONS! LOL! I think prioritizing connection over running fast will help her a lot right now. At home and in the turf facility, you have moved into the running faster, not needing ot connect as much. In this big dirt facility, with wider distances and more delicious distractions, the massive connection will re-establish the skills and then it will all generalize really nicely! The spots where you did exaggerate the connection looked beautiful and her skills looked great!

A good example of that is on your round 2 – your opening looked great!! Really connected, you were not trying to run too fast or be too early, just trying to exaggerate the line. 1-10 was just about perfect!!! And this is good to keep in mind at her first trials (or matches) whenever that might be: extra support in new environments.
Yes, right at about 10, things came off the rails – it is hard for her to remain on task for that big of a course without a reward, plus you were entering the distraction zone there 🙂 So you can cut the courses in half for her: 8 or 10 obstacles on each walk through.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! I saw something go by on FB about her toe!!! What happened? 2020 is just THE WORST.

On the videos – Look how nice your field looks! On the skills video – the disconnections are really hard with youngsters. You did a great jon heading towards the tunnel connecting just long enough to get her on the line, then disconnect and run. She was not completely convinced (slowed down and lifted her head) but the tunnel is a big target so she did it. Yay!
The line exiting the tunnel is much harder, so a couple of ideas for you:
You already started breaking it down to reward the jump after the tunnel. So you can keep doing that, strategizing at first to be parallel to here and in ‘soft’ connection (meaning she can kinda see one of your eyes) and reward – then ahead of her in soft connection. Then go back to parallel and try a tiny bit of connection when she exits the tunnel, then slide into disconnection. It will be such a useful skill for those upcoming novice runs when you are running for your life on big lines : )

On the backsides – in general, going to the backside of the jump is something she did well here (especially the first rep). The default to take the jump (ratehr than run parallel to it and offer her thoughts up in song) is something that we can solidify – she did come in when you slowed down, but we can work the backside default behavior from last week’s custom skills sets so you can be ahead amd she takes the jump. Basically, it involves reinforcing her for going to the back side of the jump by dropping the reward in behind you – before she even has a chance to decide about taking the jump or not 🙂 It helps her automatically come take the jump after going to the backside.
She went nicely to the backside at 1:37 after the wing too! You can drop the reward in as you move parallel, as she is just about getting to the backsie. Right now she is reading a little physical cue and getting rewarded in front of you – in order to be able to allow you to run to the next line and get commitment, try to reward her behind you.

This might be the type of thing that is easy to when the toe has been cleared: the custom skills sets on a jump bump to reward that default taking the jump after she goes to a backside.

Ti did really well on the sequences!

Seq 1: This overall was super nice. I think you can b eon the perfect path more, very literally – you were a step or two off the line so he turned wider than needed, looked at you, and then had to push back to get the next jump. What I mean by that is:
1-2-3 is a parallel path, so that was great.
4-5 is a serpentine, so you can get on/closer to the actual path you want him to run at :04 on the landing of 4
5-6 is a parallel path backside push, that looked terrific!
The exit of 6 to 7 is a pretty tight turn – so that is where you will want to get right on the line you want him to take as he is approaching the jump at :08
The same goes for 7-8 wrap exit at :10 – get right on his line to cue the tight exit line from 7 so she can more easily find 8.
He did well coming to the correct side of 9! You can use your threadle arm to help ‘flick’ him back out to 9 so he smooths that out.

At :24, you were pushing in to get past the backside of 6 to get to 7 – perfect countermotion handling in terms of line and connection, and it showed us some dog training homework: he didn’t take the jump, he went to you. In that moment, you can send him right back behind you to the jump to be all like: dude, take that jump when I am here 🙂 then reward 🙂
At :42 you helped him take it by staying more in a serpentine position and showing an arm shake, so he took the jump – but it put you in his way and on his line at :44.
That is good to know – that he is very good at coming in when there is a normal serpentine on the backside so the only HW is adding the default to the countermotion like you were doing at :24.

Sequence 3:
The opening looked really good on the first 2 runs, nice timing on the blind (he was in the tunnel and you had it done pretty much before his exit, which works nicely here) and set up a nice backside send to 5! You were on a good line so he ran a really good line to. He understood the independent commitment to the bar after the send at :56 so you were able to turn and leave. Yay! I think maybe you forgot there was a backside at 6? At :57 you faced the front side then as he was about to take off, you tried to indicate the backside. You were much earlier and clearer at 1:17! Nice low arm, great connection. One little detail is to run more on his line on the exit of 5 for one more step to set it: as he was jumping at 1:15, you were fully turned and facing the front of 6: so he turned to the front, then you pushed him back out. You can exit 5 already facing the backside of 6, so he will land also facing the backside of 6 there. That will make the push to 6 even easier and allow you to show 7 even earlier.
At 1:39, you rotated towards him as he landed from 5, which cued the front of 6 even though you did start saying push as you tried to open back up to the backside.
Your best exit of 5 and earliest push cue was at 1:55 – very nice! And as he was heading to the backside at 1:56, you were in a great spot on the other side of the bar and he took the jump. Yay!!
It was hard to see what happened on the 8-9 section – on the first time through there, he took the front of 8 then you did a threadle to 9. The video cut off just before the second time.

So overall, Ti did really well here! He and Josie can both use that default to jump on the backside slice from the custom skills set. And when Josie is cleared, you can do the disconnections up the line almost as a lazy game, where you are trotting along – that should be toe safe. Let me know what her upcoming rehab is for that toe and I can send some of the games we play for concepts that would be OK for her 🙂
Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Yay, it works!
Loved the soundtrack! Trumpet and maybe a bit of part singing too?
You got nicely in the groove on this where he was touching the target and then you got him to leave it for the treat. Very nice! I think he was a little faster coming into the target when you did the cookie tosses rather than the stays for now, probably because of the excitement of you moving. But it totally looked good (ignoring theo ne dropped treat rep LOL!) so now you can proceed to the cookie hand lready being out and seeing if he will start to chain the touch-then-treat (also a good distraction!) and then you can move to a food bowl on the ground, for touching the target then going to the bowl (which you cn the plop the cookie into).

Very nice job!!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Yes, it is posted on the Course Syllabus page, I will re-send the email 🙂

We have time though, you can take a break then jump back into it!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!!

Oh yes, I relate to internet provider issues!!!! I think a squirrel on a wheel runs my internet, and that squirrel has been lazy lately 🙂

The video is looking great!

I think she rather enjoyed the go lines to and from the tunnel without connection 🙂 My only suggestion is on rep 2 (exiting the tunnel) to not connect at all. I know, I know… all those years of connection training 🙂 But in this spot, you don’t need it 🙂

Backside blinds – on the double blinds on a backside, we really can’t disconnect because the cue relies on connection – so good job staying connected! The disconnection here would be if you handled from the landing side of the backside like a serp/blind. On the reps at :23, :32 and :40 and third one at :32 and :40, you can stay closer to the jump so she can get it more easily (your connection helped her pick it up, which was great!) – you can slow down and hang out there if you get to the backside way ahead of her. You stuck closer to the jump at :50 and she had a tighter line.
Then 2 things happened at :26 – you had a slight disconnection, looking forward to the tunnel (which cues her to come to your other side like a blind), and you gave her the forward cue to the tunnel while she was looking at the other end. So…. off she went, good girl 🙂 Perfect connection at :33 and :43 and :51, she flew to the correct tunnel entry.

On the blinds to the backside on the next section – she didn’t quite see the connection on the very first at :57 – I think it was visible but you didn’t have the early verbal that I could hear (it sounded like she was already looking at the front side when you said it, so maybe she is relying on the verbal more than we give the verbal credit for? It was earlier at 1:00 and early with higher energy at 1:05, which really helped too. At 1:05 and 1:15, this is also a spot to stay as close to the backside jump as you can, so she can commit to it more easily on the 2nd blind.

when you added the additional blind cross to the exit, you stayed closer to the jump on those so her lines to the takeoff side where great! And good job getting the timing on the blinds there – the first one was a little late (probably because it felt weird LOL!) but then the others were lovely!!

The last 2 reps (fast lines out of the tunnel) – terrific! You can disconnect more LOL!!! On the 2nd to last rep you were most excellently disconnected until it was time to do the threadle and she was great! She also really understood the line without the connection – motion + verbal for the win!

Great job!!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>Knee surgery went well, though they found a few extra bits in there and also evened out some cartilage, so I was pretty sore last week.

Sorry you were sore! But glad it is behind you and you are healing up!

>>I’m not up to running quite yet, so we worked on the default backside serp skill.

Perfect! And I had to laugh that your video title was BS Serps, because while my adult self knows you meant backside, my inner 12 year old giggled about it being Bullsh*t hahahaha

On the video:
You are moving beautifully for someone who just had knee surgery!!! Wow!

I think you can drop the toy in sooner – you were taking a heartbeat for switch hands as she came around the wing, which delayed the drop – just drop it in with whichever hand it is in like you did at :28 and :51, for example. But overall, I think she was doing really well with her default commitment, it looks like you were not hanging out there helping her. Yay! And the balance reps were smart: her backside wraps looked good (and good job with the toy throws for the default jump-taking). At :54 you wanted a front side and she took the back – yes, partially because of all the backside rewards but also partially because as she came around the wing at :53, you hadn’t turned forward to show a line to the front side (you were already sideways and in the center of the bar) so she was right to consider that to be more of a backside cue. You were further over at :59 which totally helped (and had your front side verbal going) – so a heartbeat of facing forward will help her she the difference between front and back.

>> I’m worried I’m still too far across the bar to get the push to the backside, but she did great when I dropped the toy at the right time (and in the right spot).

Yes, she was great!!!! So now we can add challenge in the form of countermotion, which means we have to get you passing the exit wing while she is just coming around the entry wing – which means getting the push from really far across the bar. Your connection really helps (and the verbal will continue to take on value) – so using the wing wrap, send her from the inside of the wing to the outside, so as she exits the wing wrap she is on a parallel line to the backside: so you do not need to step to it, you can just connect and move forward from pretty far across the bar, to get the countermotion going (dropping the toy in behind you nice and early for now :)) Set yourself up to be pretty lateral so you don’t have to do anything more than walk fast 🙂

>>Also, I was able to really work in keeping my eyes on her little laser beams, and holy cow does that make a difference

Yes! The dogs read how the chest turns there and they move to the backside while we can keep moving forward.

>> (duh! – how many times have you told me this??).

Ha! Probably the same amount of times I have to re-tell myself hahaha 🙂 We have to relearn this with each new dog!

Great job! Let me know if the suggestion to add the countermotion makes sense 🙂
T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! I bet the humidity is crazy! We have a ton of it up here. I am thankful for being able to get outside at 6am LOL!

The courses here are looking fabulous! Your adjustments were awesome and I award you the title of Most Awesome Blind Crosser 🙂

Course 1 – great job on the opening! Setting him up further back allowed for a lot more speed. The double blind at 3 worked beautifully: fast and tight. NICE!
He seemed to have no trouble letting you be further away on the a-frame, which set up the earlier blind 6-7 and you were also on a good line there.

Good send at go to 9 and good hustle to get past 10 at :22, but you were not really connected so he read the new line a little late

The middle section from 11 all the way through to the ending looked really good! Your timing on the BC 15-16 was excellent. You can be on a slightly tighter path to 16 there at :31 – you were tighter than the round 1 runs but I think you can be even tighter – when he is committing to 14, stay connected like you were but run directly towards 16. Let your connection and verbal be the cue for 15. Then it will be perfect! I believe he has the commitment for that.

Course 2: definitely better rotation on jump 2 at :42! He was tighter and you could turn sooner. If you play with that section again, try staying on takeoff side or parallel to the wing, You were a little on landing side and I bet he will be fine if you push the edges and get a little further ahead.

The middle line looked great. As with Course 1 – he did a lovely aframe with you being lateral. Freeze the video at :53 – he is landing from 7 and you are both connected AND starting the blind. Then freeze it at :54, he is about 6 feet from takeoff of 8: you are done with the blind, arm back and connected and on the perfect path. That allowed him to produce a really tight line while maintaining extension. YES!
He took the bar down at 9. Since bars are unusual for him, I think it was mainly due to you hitting the brakes/decel a little late, so he was adjusting. Deceling then pulling away to handle on the landing side of 10 was actually harder and you had to whip out a RC on 11. I think in this situation, driving through to a forced blind on takeoff side of 10 would be more effective based on where you came from 7-8-9. Yes, it is risky because there is an off course tunnel right there 🙂 But it will get you ahead without having to slam on the brakes.

When you re-did that section, you did the send-and-leave for 9 earlier and that helped with the bar – but you still had to do a lot of hustle to get past 10 🙂 And you did! But feel free to try the forced blind and see how it goes there 🙂

Great job moving through the threadle 11-12 – you kind of had to on the first rep because you were coming in from a rear cross, but when you were ahead on the 2nd time through there, you kept moving forward, used your verbal & upper body, and he nailed it. Nice!

Lovely job on the ending line – just enough rotation on 14 to get 15 without a loss of speed. And great job moving through the backside of 18, trusting his commitment!

Course 3:
Wheeeee! Great job on the opening!!! He had NO trouble with the forced blind on 2 and the blind 3-4 was lovely (which also set up a great line to 5). Just add in your verbals and it will be perfect (I suggest a threadle verbal on the BC at 2 and just his name 3-4.
Nice job on the backside at 7 – he is really strong with those! If you play with that one again, try it just with verbals and upper body, see if he can send without you even needing to take a step to the backside. Your position was perfect so if we can eliminate the need for a send step on the parallel path backsides like this, you can get even further ahead (and his backside commitment was perfect here too). You were able to move through it all early enough to keep him driving in extension.

Gorgeous blind 9-10! Nice timing and connection! And nice job setting the Rc on the jump before the poles – I don’t think he is as comfortable with that move (he looked up at you a little), but it is the best option here so it is good to practice and his turn on 13 was really nice!

You had a little bit of quick foot rotation on 15-16 (threadle) so keep convincing yourself to run forward through those. As you are getting more comfy with that, you can also try threadles as double blinds: BC #1 before he takes off for 15 and you keep moving up the line – BC #2 when his head comes through the gap/passes the exit wing of 15. Your BC skills are looking great so I think you might like the double binds more than the threadles!

You were a tiny bit late on the connection exiting 17 (backside serp) so remember to look for his eyes there. He slowed down right at 21, but I think that had more to do with you feeling the humidity! On those ending lines, you can throw the ball sooner to keep him driving ahead 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think! Stay cool 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Yes, I hear your neck of the woods is like an oven!!!! We have had something line 28 consecutive days over 90 degrees here… but the mountain breeze has helped clear the humidity so it has been fine.

These binds are looking good! I like his commitment and you can use them to get waaaay up the course – note how easy it was for you to get be able to send him to the 2nd cone after the jump. Easy! He took the front side of the jump after cone 1 on these, so for added challenge on the double blinds: get him to take the side closer to you (backside for him) on that jump – it is like a threadle but using double blinds. Two tricks to it: start the first blind just before he gets to cone 1, and maintain connection on the exit. And, hang out by the entry wing of the jump. If you move across the face of the jump, he might read the motion and jump it rather than come to the other side. So, you will be connected over your left side here and near the entry wing (either not moving much or being stationary) til he is almost at the backside – then do the 2nd blind so he takes the jump and heads to Cone 2. Let me know if that makes sense!
Have fun, stay cool!
Tracy

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