[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

No worries about being behind, things are nutty and this week (tomorrow) will be busy for all of us – there is time to get things done, no rush 🙂

On the video – good work here! In general, all of the get out cues were great and he was already moving to 4 before taking off for 3. Yay! You don’t need it on all of the reps but it looked really strong.

On the first sequence:

The opening looked really good! The FC at :11 was late, he was taking off on the slice line as you were starting it, so he brushed the wing. You can use a brake hand as he is passing you to the backside there as you rotate, as well as earlier timing: Based on the backside commitment line, I believe he is committed to the backside when he is halfway between the 4 and 5 jumps there, so you can set up the FC sooner.
Compare your timing to the next full rep: at :37 you are already changing the info, and at :38 you have started the FC and he is still 5 or 6 feet from the entry wing. Reaching the brake hand across the bar helped too – you can wait one more heartbeat right on the line to get one more collection stride before leaving then I think it will be perfect.

I love that you tried all the things on the 6 jump! Wheee! I of course had to get out my handy dandy timer to compare 🙂 Here is what I found, from fastest to slowest:

German
Japanese/threadle
Whiskey/switch
backlap
reverse wrap

Now going back through, I think the japanese/threadle one can end up being fastest (no spin needed, that is tooooo much rotation. I agree that the spin would not be my first choice, but the BC to threadle might be, because of how fast it can be and how I can get to better position after it! More below). I will go through in order on the video:

The switch/whiskey was really well done! You can maybe add a little more decel as he was approaching the backside, but I am not sure this is needed nor will it get the line faster.

>>– On all reps of the last sequence, I would have been better off it I didn’t need to babysit the #5 backside as much.
– While I did pull off the German, I wasn’t very well positioned.>>

Yes! And these are related – and I don’t think you need to babysit 5 that much – when you give the big connection as he is exiting 4, you can hang out kind of in the center of the ring. On the backlap at 1:4, you would then head to the center of the 6 bar, using connection/verbal to send to the 6 backside when he is taking 5. You went a bit too much to the entry wing so it was hard to get a tight line across the bar at 6 with some decel and an earlier turn-back cue.

Same for the German at 1:35 – you can send more to 5 and head straight to the exit wing of 6. He definitely kicked in a higher gear of speed when he saw you drive through the german!! And heading more directly to the exit wing (as if you are running more towards the tunnel entry) will tighten the exit line.

Both of these can also be done with less get out to 4 and more motion towards it, so you don’t get too far ahead 4-5 and end up standing still.

On the BC to the threadle at 1:53 – you were too helpy on the backside send to 5 so the blind was late – he read it but had to slow down a lot there. You can definitely cue/send to 5 sooner and get up for the BC before the threadle earlier. Then you had a bit too much power & acceleration to the bar at 6 – try to step to the center of the bar and don’t go past it, then leave for the tunnel. That will make for a tighter exit without needing a spin. You can take off a couple of tenths in each spot, which is why I think this will end up being your fastest option because it was only 1 tick slower than the German (also gets you further ahead if something crazy was after the tunnel)

The wrap is good to work of course 🙂
>>– I don’t love the wrap but based on my possible positioning and motion, it was pretty good.>>

I agree! You can send to 5 and leave sooner, to get up to the position where the wing meets the bar as he lands from 5: then hang out t here, slightly rotated to your next running line, brake hand to help get collection – and don’t move til he passes you. And when you do move, move directly to the tunnel – at 2:18 you stepped back away so at 2:19 when he landed, he looked at you for a while until you stepped back in to the tunnel. You can cut off a good chunk of time by moving directly forward. In this scenario, I don’t think it will be faster than the german or the threadle, but it does get used in other scenarios so getting it nice and tight is good to practice 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>For the ladder grid, I had the bars at 8″. At what height should they be to add more jumps?>>

Start on the lowest setting you have, 4 or 6 inches for the first session or two, then you can raise them up. 8 inches will be ‘full height’ on this particular grid 😉

>> He seemed to totally have the idea of get out or no get out though so that was super cool.

Yes- that was outstanding – he had no questions at all!!! Good boy!!!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
>>Good morning!

>>We played with the Rear Cross/Turn and Burn over the weekend and I felt it with this too…..not the same drive out of the turn around the barrel as we went on. I’m thinking he’s telling me that the sessions are getting too long and/or too much thinking so I’m planning to play some of the handling games where he’ll get to run a little more….like the Diamond Game or something similar. Your thoughts?>>

Yes, could be that the sessions are too long – do you run a timer on them or limit the # of reps? Also, since he is a full-on foodie, you might be seeing the effects of food rewards – food rewards can often be calming 🙂 Yes, adding more running games for sure! And also adding different reinforcement styles where the food is more toy-like. For example, with my Papillon who is one of the biggest food pigs on the planet: I tied a line to his lotus ball and when I tossed it to reward, I swung it around like a toy using the line, so he would chase it and grab it like a toy. Then he started tugging on it too! It was definitely NOT calming hahaha

And there is also the flyball style of rewarding – run and whoop it up and run and then deliver the reward. Wheeee! That can reduce the ‘chill’ factor that the food brings. And it is a good workout haha

On the RC versus GO – One thing I notice is that he is not powering into the Rear cross, which makes it harder for you to show the line – so he sometimes gets it wrong because you are late (you can still give happy feedback there – a ‘good boy, you are cute, your reward is over there!” can help him learn to make the RC turn even if you are late for whatever reason.
So the reason I think it probably felt sticky and was late on the first rep has to do with the Go reps: On the Go cues, you are leaving the barrel early enough that he is not driving ahead, he is chasing you. He is fast and driving, but behind you. So when you move towards the jump with less acceleration for the RC, he is uncertain about driving ahead. A-ha! So if we get the go to be more about driving ahead, then the RCs will be muuuuuuch easier! He is reading the RCs but it probably feels sticky in the moment, right?
So on the go reps: stay close to the barrel until he is all the way around, don’t move, let him get to yoru side (he can even look up at you like, what the heck, human?) Then accelerate towards the jump. And to encourage driving ahead, you can have his reward placed out there already for a few reps, then go to throwing wicked early – throw as soon as you start driving and saying Go. When he is smoking you and gets to the jump 10 feet before you do, you can add in the RCs again 🙂

I just put this video up for the Crazy Commitment class to get more GO on a jump – it is in the context of *not* having to connect but it can also give you another way to approach getting more drive ahead to the jump (without a barrel):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXRG7Q4Gsg

The backside circles look great! He found the backside really nicely and double gold star for committing to the bar while you kept moving past it – yes!!! You can add in your verbal for these circle wraps.

>>And oh yeah…… on the next to the last rep of the rear crosses to his left I forget to use his Left verbal and on the next one I remembered. I don’t like that I forgot but I sure did like how it helped him understand the cross on the next one when I remembered>>

YES! That was so cool to see – the verbal being helpful is perfect because it really helped him nail it. Yay!!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This is going really well 🙂 He did a great job discriminating the 3 different cues! Only one suggestion: on the threadle in particular (and on the serp too, but I don’t think it is as important as on the threadle cue): show the body position of dropping the arm back and then release with the threadle word (‘come’). When you said the word and *then* did the arm cue, he has to wait a moment to see/hear the full cue (the word is not fully independent yet). And when he wants to react fast like at 1:14, if the arm cue is late after the verbal, he might consider the wrong side (that was the rep where he almost took the serp side then saw the arm cue, stopped, came in. Good boy!!) So the order of festivities would be: you move then do arm cue then do the verbal cue 🙂 Then it will be easier to get the understanding using the physical cue. After a couple of sessions: move him further back and switch the order: move, verbal, then arm – that way the verbal predicts the arm better and will help solidify the understanding, if that makes sense 🙂
The serps looked good and so did the tunnel cues! The only tunnel question he had at 1:44 I think was because he needed more connection – which you gave him on the last rep and it was perfect.

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Glad you were able to be outside! I see green grass and no white stuff 🙂 I always prefer grass over mats for jump work especially.

On the set point:
I think he looks good at 12″! One thing about grids, is that they are really “chill” and we are teaching form but they dogs are often not as powerful as they are on course. He is stepping in really well, nice and balanced, seems light – so I really think the slightly higher butt is just because he is being ‘chill’ on the way to the reward. One thing that he might be ready for is the set point and then instead of a toy… put a tunnel out there. Wheee! You might see that butt stay fown more because he wants to drive to the tunnel. I need to do this with CB so maybe I will get it on video this week (it is really only for the older pups, I won’t do it with Elektra who is only 7 months old).

Ladder grid – also looking strong! He was a little more head up on the first time through the 4 jumps but really didn’t lose the overall form of it. I think he is not really driving ot the reward as you mentioned so he was a little hippity hoppity on that last rep – but again, I think it is more about the grid being kinda chill, the reward being ‘dead’… because he is not losing his form or his mind, we can add more excitement 🙂 You can get him wilder with tugging or tricks then set him up and ask him to do it with more internal arousal. I still think he is going to be fine with that – so you can add more of your motion. That will be harder 🙂 but I still think he will sort it out nicely, because he is able to go fast and get excited without losing his brain. I love that!

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
I love how you have an entire agility ring in your space there – I see a jump, weaves and a contact! Yay!

He did really well on his out jump here! My favorite rep was the one moving towards the window/away from the camera: Starting at :31, he was on the inside between yu and the jump and you had the opposite arm going as the cue. Yay! He read it really well.

When you send him around the barrel (his wraps look good!!) you can switch sides so you are on the outside and he is between you and the jump – that will make the out even easier. I think that is why he had a question at around :47, he was facing the other way so he needed a moment to figure out which side to be on – because he is young, you can line him up next to you (between you and the jump), give a cookie, then do the out – that will start him off looking in the correct direction.

Thanks for the trial run!!! He is showing a lot of speed and drive on the lines – true, not always the correct lines but that is normal for a baby dog and he did a GREAT job especially at the end. Yay! Loved his stay!! And OMG someone peed on the poles?? Eek!!! He was a good boy! Nice job staying connected and getting him on that big long line at the end: wowza, he has some speed! And the crowd cheering was so fun to hear 🙂 Well done to you and Merlin!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
She does seem to be back to her normal self 🙂 This went really well!

>> Switching gears can be as tricky for us as for the pup.>>

Truth!!!! I had to stay sooooo calm during this session and calm is not natural for me hahaha

The look on her face on the first far at :11 was SO funny – she was like “what the…?” LOL!! Keep working it – keep letting her find the tunnel by herself (it is so hard to resist the temptation to help her with a hand cue). She was figuring it out and that is going to pay off in the long run – just keep repeating the cue like you did and moving to the tunnel and having a party when she figures it out (but the look on her face when she is coming towards the camera is just priceless, I can see the steam coming out of her ears LOL!) I think you were in good positions for the far cue and also you got the directional in on the wing before it when adding speed. She does best finding it independently when you were moving directly towards it like at 1:22 and a bunch of the other reps. When you were a little too far away like at :59, she needed more help. She does not seem to be looking at the off course tunnel so you can totally drive in to the far end with confidence.

Great job on these!!!

Tracy

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by Tracy Sklenar.

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The turn away/lap turn is really challenging for handler mechanics: it is a slow motion precision move which actually feels delayed when you do it right. If you are too early or off a little in mechanics: young dogs will do the throw back like Lennan was doing. On the lap turn/turn away, it is a 3 step process: after waiting til he is about 2 inches form your hand (that is the slow motion delayed feeling part LOL!) step 1 is follow hand and leg back, step 2 is turn him away, step 3 is indicate the jump. A throw back is more flingy, meaning we don’t have to wait as long and we can swoosh the dog away to the wing with less precision and more motion.

>> A few times he actually seemed to be quite sure that I was wrong though, lol. He would start to come in to me and then quickly change to the other direction around the wing. >>

Well, yeah…. he was right LOL!!! He was reading the mechanics correctly. Darned honest young dogs LOL!!!

>>Apparently though the toy was just maybe too exciting for his brain because after it didn’t really seem to be working out we took a break, and then came back for another session with no toy and more success.>>

I think the success was all about your mechanics. The toy might have been a little stimulating but when he was correctly doing the turn away, your mechanics were strong! Here are the specifics:

At the beginning of the video, did look like a throw back rather than a turn away on th first couple of reps – partially because you were a little on his line and partially because you were melding steps 2 and 3 together in the mechanics:
You were turning and indicating at the same time so he didn’t turn, he went to the wing. Swoosh! It was more of the ‘flingy’ move and less of the slow motion/delayed move.
So to help him get it – be a little further from the wing (a meter maybe) and then focus on getting him to come to your hand (use the magic cookie hand position (I think that is what you were doing at 2:24) and you can even have a cookie in that hand. Then straight back, staying on the hand (the step back and hand back is parallel to the wing, not towards it, to separate steps 2 and 3 of the mechanics).

Looking at the rep that started at 2:23 as you sent him around the wing:
perfect magic cookie hand at 2:24 (he even opened his mouth, the joys of classical conditioning LOL!)
At 2:25 you were super patient, you kept your magic cookie hand visible/extended to him and your feet together til he was a couple of inches from you. Then you drew him straight back/turned him then indicated the jump. Nice!!

Compare it to the next rep – he came to your hand nicely at 2:42 but when he was about a foot or two away, you stepped towards the wing (arm and leg indicating) so he did the throwback.
Then on the rep after it, you slowed the mechanics down and isolated each step: lap turn. Same at 3:05 and 3:21 when you switched to the other side, and the next reps too. Yay!
3:55 was too early with too much indication to the wing: he thought maybe a throwback? 4:07 was very precise and slower: lap turn. Same the reps on the other side

Ladder grid is looking good! He is learning to power more with his rear – that will continue to develop as he continues to physically mature. You’ll see him land more in the middle of the distance and not as close to the previous jump. On this 3 jump grid, you can add in leading out less and walking while he is doing it (the toy should still be out ahead on the ground). And separately you can also add a 4th and 5th jump to the grid, same distances with you standing still at the reward – but lower th heights as you add more jumps because the balance challenge increases when there are 4 or 5 jumps.

Get out video: The out is looking good! And I think it is awesome that he never self-outed (is that a word? LOL!) when you wanted him to NOT take the jump. Yay!
You will see the tightness of his turns continue to improve – it looks like either he was really locked into the placement of reinforcement from the earlier stages or there was something out there on the line he was driving towards. When you did the blinds, you were a tiny bit late but I think it was because your were trying to figure out the strange mechanics. He got really tight at 2:29 when you were really early with moving away from the jump! So keep working to start the blind when his head turns – your last rep was the earliest so keep up with that timing. He will get tighter and tighter because he will realize that tight turn moves might indeed happen after a get out – I think this was news to him on the first couple LOL!!!! You can also do FCs there as well, which will help him turn (the foot rotation) which will make the BCs easier because he will expect that they are a possibility. And when you are more comfy – add in your wrap verbal when you see his head turn. that can totally help too!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there! She did really well here, she seemed VERY confident about leaving you to go to a line! Nice and fast, but also great turns. Yay!! And she is also very honest about whether your cue is clear or not – good girlie 🙂

Two general things: stay in motion more! You were tending to be stationary and leaning forward in a lot of places – she always found the lines better when you stayed in motion.
Also, try not to call her when she is in the tunnel when there is a ‘get out’ jump coming up – start your get out cue just before she enters the tunnel, so she is prepared to move away rather than come towards you.

Some specifics for ya:
Sequence 1 – you can definitely move more on the opening of this sequence, which will set you up to get an easier “get out” – more motion and more rotating your upper body towards her so your outside shoulder comes out ahead of your body rather than leaning towards her will help on that first rep where she didn’t go to the jump – the get out cue is a bit more upright and less about leaning.
The next 2 reps at :54 and 1:12 had more motion and that really helped her pick up the line! You were facing the get out jump with your whole body on those, you can try having your feet heading to 4 and upper body facing her.

Seq 2:
You were definitely more upright (less leaning) on the get out here, so now you can be further from the get out jump (closer to 4 :))
You were getting the line 3-4 really nicely – you were pulling her on your right side 4 to the tunnel which was hard because it sets up a difficult line to the tunnel (as you can see from her questions – she is an honest girl!!). You were in a great spot for a FC 4-5: using your get out to 3, you can hang out on the entry wing of 4 and get a FC (or BC) easy peasy there 🙂

Your get out cue at 2:20 now getting a lot more independent! You were further away, closer to 4 and feet facing 4 more. She pulled the bar on it – I think it is a complex skill and you started your push verbal as she was jumping – she is not quite ready for it yet, so for now don’t use a verbal while she is in the air. When she is more experienced, I think it will be fine and won’t distract her if you cue over the bar.

Seq 3 – This first rep was a definite keep moving moment 🙂 You can keep moving to get closer to 4 – you were stationary and ended up in in no man’s land at 2:54 so she didn’t know where to go when you pulled her in from 3.
You kept moving at 3:12, nice early rotation on 3 that set up a nice wrap on 4! Her commitment looked really good with all that countermotion! At 3:31 – you were turned too forward there and didn’t have quite enough motion – plus the cue was late – she is so honest, she won’t save you LOL! Compare that to the last 2 reps: You had much clearer motion and cues in and out of the 2-3-4 section, they were lovely! Well done!

Great job on these – she is reading her lines so nicely but keeping you honest if there is not enough motion 🙂 Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Sounds like things are crazy – stay safe! This went really well considering lack of sleep! And great tunes in the background!

First sequence – really nice! Connections looked good and the get out looked good – you ight have taken a step or two towards the get out jump on the first rep but I am nit picking – you still ended up in a great spot.
More nit picking – as she is coming around the jump to go back to the tunnel – call her quietly for a step or two before going to the high energy go tunnel cue: I think the energy was propelling her a bit wide there LOL!

Your get out at :19 was great! So was the one at :29 – but then you were rotated too early so she correctly read it as come through the gap.
The next rep had a great get out too – but you overhelped at :43 and went to the center of the bar on the FC – show the line like you did here but stay right at the entry wing so you can get a tighter FC line.

Sequence 2:
the get out jump also looking really good here, and the position and rotation at :54 and 1:07 got a great turn!
Small detail – on the wrap (reverse v-set, technically) at jump 4 – as she is passing your feet, you can transfer the arm cue from your left arm to your right arm to cue her to commit behind you (:55) – that will get you out of there sooner because you won’t have to twist as much and can maintain connection behind as you move forward as soon as she passes you. You had more of that at 1:09 so now as soon as she passes you, you can move forward. The games that I posted yesterdayhave more about being able to disconnect and not look at the commitment at all 🙂

Sequence 3:
You were a tiny bit early on the decel into the spin on 3 at 1:21, she almost turned off the line there 🙂 The 2nd rep looked good!

Good job with the backsides at 1:27 an 1:43 – I think on both of these you can be giving her the backside cue right before she enters the tunnel so she is expecting it more as she exits.

Seq 4:
This went well! One small detail: add some decel into the turn cues 3-4. You were going fast then rotated. she she didn’t collect as much as I know she can there.

Longer sequences – I liked the timing of the first push at 1:58, she was approaching 3 and committed to taking it and the cue moved her over across the bar at 3 and made it easier to see 4! You were too early a 2:10, she was just barely out of the tunnel so she read it as “don’t take 3”. The timing at 2:18 was spot on again and set you up for a good FC at 2:20!

You added more exit line connection at 2:54 but I thought you had very clear connection at 2:20, so as long as you look at her eyes like that you don’t need anything else 🙂

On the last sequence: I thought your backside push was well done in timing and verbal and your position was good! But there was a god training breakdown where she went to the backside and kept going at 3:05, right into the tunnel LOL!! You helped with a name call and handling on the next 2 reps but things got hairy LOL! On the last rep you were back to smoother handling, but what you did on the first rep here (3:05) was spot on perfect… we just need to train more commitment with a juicy tunnel out there 🙂 You can do a proofing game we are doing with the younger generation, I don’t think we have done it with her?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl-65fe7KyE

And this week I will be doing the video for the backside proofing – I will post it if you remind me 🙂

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
The get out and the backside sends are a lot about upper body mechanics – and that was what was either making it hard when it was going wrong, or making it easy when it was going right 🙂 More below – we had good examples of both!

>>I find that the drills where he keeps having to start from a sit are very demotivating for him and things don’t generally go as well as I know they can which is why I went to using the cone for the backside drill like we had done in summer camp I think it was.>>

I don’t think it was that the sit was demotivating… it was the low rate of success. If you get an error, it should be a small red flag. If you get two errors in the same session or in close succession: it should be a giant red banner LOL!!! So be sure to err on the side of reinforcement: if there is even the slightest chance that he was correct and your cue was incorrect: reward him. And if you can’t figure out how to help him out and he is insisting on doing something – abort mission on that skill and go watch the video. Whenever the dogs are insistent, there is something that we are doing wrong or they don’t understand – and if you withhold reinforcement or freeze up, you will get the hesitations you were seeing here.

Here are some details:
Video 1 –

>>I think I must be connecting too much in the simple releases? It was easier to get him to go out than to come to me>>

Yes – on the first rep you were showing too much connection with opposite arm visible across the body. With nothing out there except the jump – he went to it as cued (he was correct :)). Same thing happened at :21 and :29 and :38 and :42 and :51. And he was thinking about it (correctly) at :55. Reward all that because the dogs are generally correct when that happens. When he fails twice and you don’t reward, you are getting into low-rate-of-success territory which can affect his drive into the line – so it is better to reward and then stop and look at the video and see why it was happening. Remember, the dog is just about always correct so reward freely even when there is an error. Or praise, ask for a trick, reward, then try it again. On those regular connection lines, you don’t need the arm across the body or to show the toy on the release (I only recommend that on the exit of crosses or serps in training) so what was happening was that your outside shoulder was coming forward of your body – which was cuing the get out to the jump. When he was correct, there was a little less hard connection on the release, plus you were using motion/distance on the other lines to either pull away or move in to the jump on the other reps, so you can lay a line on the ground to help your line of travel be the same on each rep.

video 2:
He was pretty tentative here coming off the stay – you were in low rate of success territory from the previous session. The natural cue for the out is the shoulder rotation towards the jump, with the outside shoulder coming forward – which is what he saw at :13 but then didn’t get rewarded. He was super tentative at :18 – when he released, you moved your outside shoulder forward to show the toy – he took the jump as cued – didn’t get rewarded. The video shows he was correct, which is why I always suggest rewarding stuff like that because 99% of the time, it is something we handlers are doing. He did get rewarded on the last 2 reps but he was concerned. So – if you get a failure or two, always find ways to raise the rate of success rather than keep repeating it (or put the skill away until you can look at the video to figure out why it is happening).

Video 3: Backsides – the mechanics of the backsides at a distance were what was giving you challenges here. Think of it as a more upright posture with your opposite shoulder coming out ahead of the body (which is why I use an opposite arm a lot on this). On the first 3 reps you were leaning into him to be intense on the connection but your opposite shoulder was behind you so he curled in to you. Think of it less as leaning in and more rotating at the waist to show him your outside hand out ahead of your body. Almost like your outside hand pointing to the entry wing (but keep connection to his eyes). At :23 it came more forward and he got the backside (you also rotated your feet there) but at :30 you got the good mechanics without rotating your feet – yay!!! You also got the mechanics at :42, but it was late – he was already approaching the front side of the jump. But the mechanics were good (just needs to be sooner :))

Video 4 – starting form the cone set him up on a better parallel path for sure, plus better shoulder use helped get the behavior. On the last one you were leaning in a bit too much (rather than having your upper body rotated towards him) but he was on a great line so he got it.

Video 5 and Video 6 – the get out arm really moves your opposite shoulder out in front and turns him away here! Yay! You can also add in starting the cue before he gets into the tunnel so he is already turning on exit. And try to keep your feet moving forward on the line and not stepping in to the get out jump – that is hard because the strength of the upper body cue often pulls our feet to that line! I have to put markers on the ground for myself LOL!

Video 7 – This is going well so you can work little details, like keeping your feet moving forward to 4 and watching his head: as soon as you see his head turn to the get out jump, relax the cue back to the softer regular connection and show 4 more like what you did on the 2nd rep. The spin on 4 worked, but a FC will set up a smoother line back to the tunnel. Good timing and connection on the spin there!

Video 8:
Now we can add more little details: more motion into the get out cue will help you show decel and then rotate sooner. You can be moving towards 4 the entire time, then decel as he is leaving for 3 – and as soon as he head turns to look at 3 (commitment!), you can rotate to 4. It is a newer skill in terms of mechanics, so the rotations were a little late (starting when he landed from 3) so that made for a wide line to 4. The turn at 4 looked great each time!

Video 9 and 10: backsides
This is all about the parallel line mechanics and his understanding of it.
From the mechanics perspective, you were leaning in on the reps from the tunnel, which caused your opposite shoulder to be behind you rather than ahead of you (which caused him to come into you and the front of the jump). Being more upright with opposite hand in front of you will help show him the difference in the upper body.
Note the difference on some of the fixes from that spot how the outside arm helped push him out!
At :43 you had better use of shoulder (clear outside arm helping) but not enough motion parallel to his line for his current understanding – you were a bit stationary so he was’t sure how to move ahead of you to get it. He did better at 1:10 when you showed more parallel motion to it! Yay! The parallel motion is a skill that you can add more distance to – it is definitely a trained skill (like a threadle or a running dog walk) so I think the one jump exercises will help build that before you add it back to the tunnel exit. You went in closer to help him out on videos 10 and 11, which is appropriate for now – but working through the one jump with more distance for a couple of sessions will help set up better mechanics and understanding to help get it from the tunnel exit (which is really difficult because he can’t see you while he is in the tunnel :))

So – keep isolating the mechanics, focusing on the outside shoulder coming forward as you connect strongly to him and I think it will all get much easier 🙂 Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Lots of great stuff here!
Looking at this in sections

On the opening 1-2-3:
Try not to spin on the tunnel – it should be a turn cue and there is no advantage to it here without diluting the turn cue – you can see her zigzagging on the tunnel exit on some of the spin reps. So, send and do an old-fashioned post turn so she doesn’t try to turn on the tunnel exit.

Sequence 1: We can tighten up the turn on 4 at :08 and :16! Add a little bit of decel on the first wrap rather than going fast then rotating. If you do get way ahead and rotate that early, shift connection to her eyes at landing of 3 (eyes and hand towards her nose) and not swoosh back to landing spot – that shifting connection is the stand-still version of decel 🙂

On the get out section:

>>Instead of telling her “Go” when she enters the tunnel, I think I will try giving her the out cue.

I think the go on the tunnel entry is appropriate: the next line is a go. If you start saying get out before she enters the tunnel on this set up, she should not go straight to 3 but rather she should turn to her right.
But – when she exits the tunnel and as she is approaching 3, that is when you can give the get out cues (verbal and physical, with your upper body opening towards her).

The get out at :25 and :37 was more of a forward sent when she landed from 3 and she questioned it by slowing down at :25 but then went wide a :37. You can be showing her the extreme connection cue at 3 sooner to move her over on the jump and prepare her for the get out to 4. For example at :57 you are pretty forward as she is over 3 so she is looking to her left then the send happens after landing – she barks and slips. Same at 1:08 (no slip, but she did bark :)) And at 1:21 and 1:31 it almost looked like a RC on the flat because the forward send was pushing into her line a lot. So the extreme connection before she takes off for 3 can help set the line without you needing to step to it.

On the turns on 5:
Very good connection shift to her eyes at :27 and :39 for the wrap! You were in motion but connected very clearly to her eyes and her turn was really nice!

Nice timing and connection in and out of the backside FC at 1:00 and 1:11!! That set up nice turns for sure.

On the last sequence with the backside at 5 AND 6:
Nice backside at 1:22! I loved your position on that rep going for the backside at 6 – you were trying to be on the exit wing at 1:24 – perfect position! Except your connection was not strong enough – your right arm got really high and your shoulders were pointing to the front of the jump so that is where she went.
At 1:34 you changed your position and hung out closer to the entry wing and used a step to get the backside at 6… but then she smoked you across the bar AND she got angry LOL! You got the tunnel at 1:37 but you got it as a rear cross. 1:46 was further over but still not where you were at 1:24 – so you got the tunnel on a rear cross.
Now, the rear cross on the tunnel entry works for this sequence because it is the end (although it is slower because she is decelerating into it) but you should be able to get the backside from where you were at 1:24 and get in for the blind (german turn) on the exit of 6. The difference is the style of connection: rather than the right arm, turn your upper body very directly to her eyes so that your left shoulder comes forward (that is why I use the outside arm with Voodoo, to show the upper body while I get as far across the wing as possible) and that should ping her away to the backside with you all the way across the bar 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by Tracy Sklenar.

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>> I’m pretty happy with these sequences overall>>

Heck yeah, they are looking great. So many great spots! The feedback is all about the little details.

>> but I think I’m getting barked at more than I really deserve to be.>>

Ha! I feel that – sometimes we deserve to be barked at… sometimes the dogs are just barking because we are exciting 🙂 I am sure we can figure it out 🙂

Sequence 1: She was yelling a lot on the first rep – I think she really reads your upper body/shoulders (OMD chest laser) and any time your arm was out and you were looking too forward, it turned your chest laser away from the line – she pointed it out with some verbal sassing LOL! You can see it as she exited the tunnel at :04 and as she was landing from the blue jump heading back to the tunnel at :06 – on both of those spots you were pointing to the obstacle more than connecting with her and showing the line with connection/chest laser.
She also barked between the 2 jumps at :05 but that might have been because you turned your head – I am fine with your handling there, I would not have barked at you haha! You had good motion and connection on the landing and good verbal – she might have still been expressing her opinion from earlier LOL!

Now compare to the non-barking moments: you were very connected (arm back, eyes, great motion) so your chest laser pointed to the tunnel at :16 and she had a lot of speed into the tunnel and zero barking 🙂 Also better connection on the tunnel exit to the FC at :19 – no barking.
Same with the line to the tunnel at :26 and :35 and :45 and :56 and 1:06 – you are connecting your shoulders/chest laser to the line for a stride or two after she lands from the jump so she is happy with the info and getting directly into the tunnel with no discussion 🙂

>>Also, on the first two front crosses/wraps, I’m not sure why Annie is ending up so far behind me. She seems to be focused on me. Is she just following my right arm? Maybe I should keep my arm close to the bar and not let it swing around so much?>>

On the FC at :11 and :19, a couple of ideas for you:
as you set up the FC, cue it more towards the takeoff spot and not as much on the landing spot – so as she is exiting the tunnel you will be putting the decel and rotation and right arm closer to her line near the wing/takeoff spot. You were a little on the landing side which sets up a slice jump and not as much collection. Then as you exit it – use your strong exit line connection and step more directly forward to the tunnel entry. You had a high arm but also stepped back out of it, which caused your running line to go more toward the 2nd tunnel bag so she was not sure if she should go to the tunnel entry or follow your line.

Lap turn at :28 and :37 – very clear connection and GREAT turn! Nice! I think she barked at you there because the turn cue for the tunnel exit was after she exited so she came out thinking she was going to the other side. All she needs will be a quiet name call when she is 3 or 4 feet before the tunnel entry to get the tighter turn on the exit there.

She didn’t bark at you at :30 but she did have a question: you were connected and saying tunnel but running away to the entry, so she was not sure if she should follow motion or verbal there, so you got a little zig zag line.
Compare that to the next rep at :39 where you ran parallel to her line for another couple of steps so your shoulders were setting the line 0 she had a clearer line into the tunnel there, NICE! She did look at you for a heartbeat, so she might need one more step of parallel line motion and saying the tunnel verbal a few more times to solidify it.

Very nice throwback at :47! She didn’t bark at you on this one – either she was a bit patterned to the turn on the tunnel exit or she saw your slight decel before entering – her turn on the exit was NICE!
You had a SUPER clear shift of connection to the landing spot and a nice rotation! She barked at you there – maybe she did not like passing the blue jump? I thought you were nicely connected and she ran the line well, but she might have been barking because she couldn’t see the next obstacle as clearly as she could see the blue jump 🙂 You can stay a little closer to the white jump as you exit the throw back, which should show her the tunnel entry sooner (she might still bark, she is a sassy one :))
She barked at you at 1:00 right before the tunnel entry – I thought you were super connected on the throwback exit and her turn was really nice! So either you can be one or two steps further over so she can see the tunnel exit sooner… so she is just going to chat at you on tunnel entries 🙂 It is fine as long as she stays on her line – lots of dogs chat like that on course.

Last sequence: REALLY nice job on the opening and blind cross at 1:08 and again at 1:21! If you freeze the video as she is jumping 3 at 1:08 and 1:21, you are finished with the blind AND clearly connected. Super nice! Nailed it!
With her speed, the only suggestion I have on the first rep at 3-4 is to decelerate sooner after the blind – when she has landed from 3, you can decelerate so she passes you and you spin sooner. You powered into it for an extra step or two which caused the spin to start as she was in the air at 1:10. Nice exit line connection and support to the tunnel entry!
Now, compare the transition you did on the 2nd rep at 1:22 – earlier decel and the rotation started as she was passing you to the 4 jump… great turn! And because your decel and rotation was sooner – as she came around the wing at 1:24, you were fully connected and driving the next line (no verbal feedback from Annie hahahaha)
Your exit line connection is looking GREAT here on these reps!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

haha those notifications are great distractions. Hooray for the paper being almost done!

>>Such a learning curve! I was familiar with the concept before…erroneously thought I had mastered it…HA! Kindle is teaching me a whole new meaning!>>

We master it with one dog – then we get another dog. Or the dog picks up speed and we have to master it all again 🙂

The sequences went really well! Connection, commitment, turns… all looking really good so we can get into the tiny details to get as perfect as possible!

Two general thoughts:
Try to use her name only for coming towards you and use directionals for when she has to turn away from you. You were tending to use her name for all the things 🙂 I feel that – when I am super focused on the handling, I do the same thing (name name name rather than all the words that my dogs know LOL!)

Also – on the tighter turns, decel is a primary cue for her. If you run fast then turn, she reads it later than if you decel into the turn. Position is not that important (in terms of whether you are close to the turn jump or not) and the timing of the rotation is not that important – but she says timely decel (when she is exiting the previous jump or the tunnel) is very important, based on her responses.

Here are some thoughts for you on the specifics:
Sequence 1:

A detail that makes the 1-2 line easier and faster: Line her up on a slice facing 2 rather than straight-ish over 1. That will produce a straight line and help eliminate an extra turn 1-2.

This sequence is a place to add decel to your transition into the turn a 4. At :22 and :34 you were fast getting to the position then you rotated… but she jumped big.

Doing the blind 3-4 to turn her the other direction is great – trust her commitment and do it sooner so it is done before she takes off (and you can decel into it too :)) at :47 and :58 she was already taking off. Doing the BC sooner will make it easier to then add decel into the wrap at 4 at :49. You did add the decel going into that 4 wrap at 1:01 and that really helped tighten up the turn. Yay!

Even though that outside line probably has slightly longer yardage, it is faster for her when I timed it versus the wrap to the inside here! Good to know! The inside turn is good to work on but has more turns and less extension, even if yardage is a little shorter.

Sequence 2:
You can start to give her the get out cue before she takes off for 3 so she can set up the turn before landing: at 1:19 on the first rep, it was late so she took off big on 3 (jumping center of the bar, thinking she was going straight) and 4 as she was sorting it out, setting up wide turns. Your line of motion was pushing in a bit already as she approached 3 at 1:31 so she is already jumping the ‘get out’ side of the bar there – Yay! That made all the turns tighter and you also cued her to come in to get 5 more clearly. Also, handling 5 as a rotated throw back at 1:35 worked really well! Nice turn!! (And don’t forget to use your get out directional and not her name at 3 :))

Good decel into 5 at 1:52! Nice turn! Decel is magic, according to Kindle.

When going to the other side – you can add decel into the get out cue to both add collection and so you can rotate sooner at 2:06 and 2:28 – that is a nice line there but you were in her way a little at 2:19 as you mentioned on the video LOL!

Seq 3 – really nice use of motion on the first run, you showed each line 3-4-5 – lines and connections looked really good on the first rep! Good timing on the FC and good exit line connection (frizzer was visible across your body!) after it at 2:49.

The 2nd rep was good too but not as smooth in terms of your motion lines – you sent to 4 more rather than ran the line so it was more push/pull on 3-4 which actually delayed your FC at 5-6 at 3:05. Motion always gets us places sooner than stopping then starting – sounds weird but staying in motion makes us faster 🙂
You held the timing a bit later of the FC 5-6 at 3:26 – hard to tell if she had gone wide before it? Nice exit line connection! You can also put a BC in there instead of the FC, it might be easier and should also produce a great turn.

Seq 4 – this is also going well. On the 2nd around cue at jump 6 (3:41) – try to use extreme connection to push her to it without you going near the entry wing. You ran to the entry wing and had to go into serious hustle to get past the wing – and didn’t quite get off her line in time so she went wide. You were definitely further across at 3:59 and definitely use more extreme connection: you were passing the exit wing as she was taking off for the backside. Yay!
I think she might have been running from memory or only following lower body there – you connected over your right side as she landed at 4:00 and not on your left side… so she really should have stayed on your right. She popped herself around to your left to the more obvious tunnel entry – it works here, but we don’t want her to self-pop LOL! So balance that sequence with sometimes keeping her on your right to get to the other entry, sometimes doing the blind to give permission to go to your left side. I think you felt it there because you did say something about the wrong connection at 4:06.
Oh yeah, as I was typing, you were saying the same thing that she blinded you without you actually doing the blind LOL!

I think you are also saying her name too much – at 4:25 at 5, you were saying Kindle rather than the backside cue so she is reading body language but definitely use the directionals.
MUCH clearer BC at 4:27 and 4:54, she did not self-blind. Your line at 4:54 running close to the exit wing was the best line on that exit too!

Love her Wonder Weavies at the end! The outfit suits her perfectly 🙂

Great job on these! Let me know what you think! And remember that decel is magic 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Yes, these went really well I could definitely see your eyes more on the exit line connection – because she is short, I think your exit line connection will be even clearer if you can move the dog side arm back (almost behind you, pointing to her tail). Your arm was down by your side so if you can get it a little further back, she will see the connection more clearly. We are truly obsessing now haha! But for sure – exit line connection is the most important for her so she can power to the next line.
On the first sequence, she was a little wide on the 2 FCs at :05/:19 and :10/:24 because of the exit line connection so exaggerating the arm back should allow her to see it all more clearly. The transition into the turn looked really great, her questions were more about the exit of the turns.

On the opening, the only other spot that I think can be clearer for her is the landing of 3 – you were looking ahead with your arm at your side, so she was not sure which side of you to be on – she even barked at you at 1:14 and 1:25 LOL! She is not very barky so when she speaks up on course, there is a good reason for it 🙂 Your connection was much clearer there at 1:41 – she had a better line to 4 and no barking 🙂

Since we are obsessing on exit line connection: great camera angle for the tunnel exit at :37, she can see where to be pretty clearly with your arm a bit further back – you can exaggerate it more by trying to point it to her tail 🙂

You had good exit line connection at 1:01 and 1:27, really nice turn 4-5 there! I think you being close to the cross jump also helps her see the exit line really well.

At 1:19, the transition into decel was a little late (she was already taking off) so she read it as a go then tried to save it as a RC on the flat. She has strong commitment, so you can start the transitions into the spins as soon as she is out of the tunnel. You were earlier at 1:31 but 1:48 can start sooner: as soon as she exits the tunnel, decelerate and then rotate (the deceleration while moving forward is the most important part of the commitment cue for her).

Last sequence:
Good ELC on the serp exit of 1 at 1:54 and 2:06 and 2:31! She barked at 2:50 maybe because you closed your shoulder forward? I couldn’t really see the difference in cues, so it might have been something subtle?
Nice timing on your FC at 1:57 and 2:35 4-5! You were actually a little too early at 2:11 she slowed down into the FC 🙂 It is not often that we are early LOL!! She does better when she has more motion into it even if it is a bit late like on the other reps.

2:19 is another good view of what she sees on the exit line – as she was coming around the wing of 7, she could only see your back so she hesitated – this is where your arm pointing back to her tail will help her see things better when you are ahead. At 2:42 she could see it better because you were closer.
That is a trend I am seeing on the exit line connection: when you are several strides ahead, the exit line connection needs to be more exaggerated with your arm further back. But when you are close to the cross jump, she can see your upper body better so you don’t have to exaggerate as much. You can see that in play on the last rep too!

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

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