[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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! She is doing really well with these get outs and backside cues!

Two overall suggestions for the get out and the backside cues:
– start them before she enters the tunnel
– repeat the cues 🙂

You were starting them after she exited and only saying the verbal once. Saying it early and often will help solidify the understanding because she will exit the tunnel already thinking about pushing away, and multiple cues will help support the line so you can leave sooner.

Here are some specifics:
Sequence 1:
This tunnel exit to the get out cue is a spot tell her about the get out sooner and repeat the cue, especially as a balance for when you wanted her to exit straight to the spin jump. She does better with your outside shoulder engaged, like on the 1st, 3rd and 4th reps. On the 2nd get out – you used the dog side arm and it looks like she turned to a RC line at :25. The dog side arm can look like a RC on the flat a bit.

With the get out reps, see if you can travel more towards the wing of jump 1 and add distance to the get out! It will be harder but worth it to et further ahead on course.

The spins on this sequence all look good especially at :31 and :44 – timely and connected!

Sequence 2:
Looking at the ‘get out’ moments:
On this first rep, you used more motion (moving towards the get out jump) to show the get out before she exited the tunnel at :55 but that caused too much motion to 3 so she stumbled making the turn on landing at :56 (the turn to come to the next jump was a little late)
2md rep was better in terms of using get out as a send and not running to 3 so her line was better to 4.
3rd rep – the get out cue was late at 1:20 (she was a full stride out of the tunnel) and you gave the cue more towards the jump rather than her eyes so she had a question so you had to move to it more to get commitment. Giving it more to her eyes will help her push away even sooner.
On the FC element:
Great FC position and timing at :57! A little more arm back when she lands for exit line connection would make it perfect. On the other reps at 1:10 and 1:24, you moved a bit too far across to the center of the bar, so she jumped on more of a slice and the turn was not quite as nice as when you were on the direct line to the tunnel at :57.

Sequence 3:
On the get out moments: On the first rep your rotation was a little late at 1:33 so she was a little wide- this is where you might have felt yourself stepping in too much. You can set up a running line directly to the wing of 4 so you can get the get out cue and the nice turn.
It looks like you were moving yourself over to a better line at 1:48 – a little oopsie of not enough connection directly to her, you were cuing more towards the jump, so she didn’t get out.
You waited a little longer but moving along the line at 1:57 which caused her to be wide but at
2:14 you pulled away sooner (yay!!) so got a better turn there coming into the gap. The distance of the get out really sets up a nice turn for her!
As you do the wrap on 4, aim for the wing of the jump and not the center of the bar so you get the sweetest line back to the tunnel.

Sequence 4 – she totally read the push to the backside nicely! YAY! You had a strong connection and running line which helped! Nice! You can start giving her the backside cue just as she is entering the tunnel then keep saying it 🙂 and keep moving along the line to get to 4.
Your rep at 3:22 had the best continuing motion and cue through the get out – really nice! As you exit the backside into the spin, you can add in a transition into deceleration: slow down then spin, so you don’t end up past the spin wing with too much acceleration.

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This is also going really well! When you move before the release, your line is much clearer in terms of going forwards and not towards the backside entry wing. You had very little movement towards the entry wing, and that is great for developing independence! Two suggestions to help make it even easier:
feel free to say your push cue several times rather than just once. Use it as the release word in this context (using OK then push causes her to look at you on the OK rather than directly to the backside) then say it a few more times – that will help you get commitment because it will help you hold the upper body cue for longer – on the one oopsie here at :17, you relaxed the upper body cue a bit too early so she curled into the front side.
Also, hold the extreme connection til she gets to the backside commitment line – that is the 45 degree angle that intersect the foot of the upright with where a wing would be (there is a 90 degree angle, if that makes sense). You can use a wing if you have one, or create one with a barrel or something so it is easier for you to see the commitment. And it gives her a bigger visual to commit to going around.
Let me know if that makes sense! Good job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! She is reading this really well! The regular lines looked perfect – you can set up the out lines the same way: move along that line before the release, release while you are moving, then cue the out with your upper body while you are moving. I think you were standing still on the releases to the out, which was contributing to you stepping towards the jump. Moving before the release will help, as will softening your arm cue – it was be a little less exaggerated so your upper body doesn’t pull your feet to the jump as much. And some type of line totally helps, I have to put stuff on the ground too when I am training this LOL!!!!!
You can also add more motion – that will make it harder to step the the jump on the out cue.
Nice work!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Nice work on these! I have some ideas on the details to make it even smoother:

1st sequence: You can start the BC 3-4 sooner at :05 – you started it when he was already jumping so he couldn’t respond til landing. The choice of a BC works nicely there and you were on a great line. Trust his commitment more: see him exit the tunnel, cue him to jump and start the BC when he is still pretty close to the tunnel exit. That way you will be done in time to see him jump 3 and then set up the timing for the jump at 4.

At 4 – as soon as he is passing you and committing to the jump, you can stop connecting there to switch connections to your left so when he lands, he already sees the knew side (more on this in the stuff posted yesterday). You were connected a bit too long over your right so then it took a few steps to get connected over your left, so he hesitated near the wing of 4 at :08 to wait for more info on which side/line to commit to.

2nd rep – he figured the big “good boy” and you stopping was about to become a get-the-toy moment 🙂

3rd rep – timing of the FC 3-4 was spot on!! That should be the same timing for the BC. But the line on the FC was too center of the bar so he jumped a bit long, out to your position rather than to 4 – let’s combine the timing of the FC here with the line from the BC on rep 1 and it will be perfect 🙂

When you rotate into him on the digdig wrap collection at :34, I think it is easiest to finish the rotation and exit with the spin like on the first rep. You opened back up towards him, which delayed the line info for the 5-6 line and he looked up at you for a moment. You were fully connected – but that is a spot where disconnecting early (to exit on a BC) can get you to the next line better 🙂

2nd sequence:
The get out worked nicely at :48 – you got good turns AND also got to good position 5 at :51!

>>The first run of the second course (:42) was clean but I thought he was lacking in confidence on the run across the barn, >

It looked like you were waiting for him a bit at jump 3 but I don’t think that will be an issue on grass or turf. That was also probably why he was not going full blast 4-5 either on the first rep – you got to such good position that he read the decel early. As with 3-4, I don’t think that will be an issue on grass or turf – on mats, I find the humans can get places that we cannot get to on grass or turf 🙂 so you will not be as decelerated as early and he will see more motion cues.

Good exit line connection on the FC at :51! Try to fully rotate your feet towards 6 even more so as he is committing to 5, you can leave for the next line, rather than be there when he lands and stepping back to give room. He looked up at you there waiting for info. Small details for sure, but it is fun to be at the level of looking at the tiny elements!

He did well on the 2 isolations, especially the 2nd one. You can move deeper into the tunnel so you can be cuing these while still in motion, I think that will allow you to cue earlier (before takeoff for 3 and still get the turns and great position.

You moved into a bit more at 1:13 and he started setting the turn before he took off for 3 – yay! That also added a bit more motion 4-5 there so he drove better into the turn at 5 (you can rotate more and leave sooner on this rep too).

He had a little trouble with the around backside on jump 4 at 1:25 – he was hitting the wing or curling into the front. This is where you can keep your ‘extreme connection’ open to him longer (upper body facing him more, outside shoulder ahead of your body) to support the line better as he sorts it out. When you were turning your shoulders away too soon, he was having some trouble. Keeping the extreme connection open to him until he is past the 45 degree commitment line (the line intersecting the 90 degree angle created by the foot of the wing and the wing itself) will support the line up to the backside even more. When he gets to that line, you can return to regular connection 🙂

You can also use the extreme connection to ping him away to a backside a 4 before he takes off for 3 (no leg banking needed LOL!) At 1:43 on the leg banking rep your left (opposite) shoulder is back behind your shoulder, which curls him more towards you rather than pushes him away from you.

>> Then the last run he made the turn without my “help”. I could probably have left sooner

Yes, it was the shoulder position that was different and helped: at 2:00 your outside shoulder was forward and ahead of your upper body and he read it as a backside push. It is so interesting to see how the dogs read that subtle difference in where we put the outside shoulder! You can leave sooner as long as your upper body is still showing that position til he commits – the other option there is to use that upper body cue from further away rather than getting as close to 4.

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Yes, you are correct! Welcome!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The lap turns on one wing are looking good! One step back is fine… but I am not a fan of multiple steps of backing up because it slows the dogs down and also it causes us humans to land on our butts 🙂 You can send her to the first wing from further away, then run forward to the 2nd wing – using a decel to be able to turn and be in position for the lap turn (distance to send to thar first wing is really helpful so you don’t end up running backwards).

The tandems are looking really good! I really like them because we can keep moving forward. She does best when you are moving parallel to the line to give her room to get to the correct side of the jump – all the reps were clear with thar except on the one blooper at :37 when you were moving towards the wing rather than parallel to her line.
Because she reads all the details of motion, you can add more motion into the tandem turns: send to the first wing then accelerate away – start the tandem cue and decelerate a little to et up the turn. That will help her drive into it more and also prepare the cue for what she will see on the bigger courses where you will be urnning more 🙂
Great job! Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and gets warm again!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>> It seems that when I support the take off of an obstacle with my body and eyes, I get a much tighter turn vs intense connection and no support of the obstacle with my eyes? I’m sure it has something to do with my body following my eyes and thus giving him the strongest/correct information?>>

Actually, it looks like 2 separate elements: collection before the jump and line after the jump.
When you are intense in your connection before the jump and not supporting the obstacle – you get great collection before takeoff, really impressive! But when you are not connected after – he widens the turn to figure out where to go next. Here is what I mean in the context of the video:

I think the wider turns on 1 and 3 are a pretty easy fix 🙂 His collections *before* the jump were really really good on all the reps! It is the exit line connection that he is questioning:
At :05 and :09 on the first rep and :15 and :21 on the 2nd rep as he is landing, your shoulder is closed forward and you are not moving a lot so from behind – he doesn’t know which side of you to be on, so he drifts to buy time before committing to a line because the line isn’t obvious yet.
Compare that to the 3rd rep: same lovely collection before the jump at :31 and :34! But as he exits the turn at :32 and :37 you are closer to the wing so he sees more of your eyes, less closed shoulder, and definitely more motion to the tunnel you want.

So I think that your instinct to move forward on the first reps towards the tunnel is a good one – but keep your shoulder open back to him so before he comes around the wing, he can immediately see which side of you to be on – that will allow him to immediately drive in to the next line.

The get out on all reps looked great on this first run!

On sequence 2, same thing in the opening as far as getting nice tight turns.

Nice collections before takeoff at :48, 1:03, 1:17, 1:30, 1:42, 1:56, super super nice! He was Wide at :49, 1:04, 1:31, 1:44, 1:57 coming around the wing because he was trying to figure out which line – the open shoulder and showing him your eyes will tighten it right up.

1:18 almost read FC then popped back out to the other side – you held onto connection over your left for an extra heartbeat and then switched to your right.
At the end – great collection before takeoff! He almost went super wide at 2:14 because you said go more strongly and he was not yet looking towards the tunnel. This is where you will want to see his eyes more and that will drive him into the line – plus wait to deliver the strong go until you know where he is looking.
On the get out reps – the left arm use was fine on these (you can use more or less of it, depending on preference) but the motion change/decel and rotation was late at :52 and 1:09 so he was wider there. Compare that to 1:21 and 1:36 and 1:48 and 2:01 which were much earlier on the decel into the rotation and he was NICE on that turn!! And super connection drove him right into the next line.

At :56 – great collection on the front of the jump! Then without exit line connection at :56 he hesitates on the line until he sees the connection (and drifts a little but that might also have to do with your stepping back before you did the blind). On these wraps, you can turn your head forward sooner and looked over your left side before he even takes off – that way he will definitely see the correct line as he comes around the wing. You were watching him over your right until he wears in the air, which gives you very little time to get to the next side quickly. There is more about this in the package posted this morning 🙂 At 1:24 you held onto the connection over your right side for a bit too long, so he didn’t collect as nicely and he stumbled a little when when he landed – usually he is pretty cat-like on his tight turns 🙂

At 1:11 and 1:36 and 1:51 on the throwback: you had great collection in front of the jump again – but now check out your gorgeous connection as he came around the wing! No questions from Juno, great turn! At 2:01 you added a blind there and it went nicely: connection around the wing then motion helped show the line, no wideness. You didn’t get quite far enough past the tunnels entry so he misread the exit but then you nailed it on the last rep. yay!

Let me know what you think about the difference in the elements of the take off side versus the landing line? I think your take off side collections are fabulous, so now we can focus in on the Lines after landing. Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Really nice runs here!!! Now we can obsess on the exact size of her bubble for getting the best jumping form:
You had asked above about whether the jump after the tunnel can be tighter – her first rep here was great! Timing and connection worked together to get a really spot-on collection. You were within the bubble and cued it really nicely!
On the get out, she read it well at :22 but it might have been on the edge of the bubble: she had to really thing about her jumping there and took off a bit earlier than she needed to. So for front side get out skills, getting a little closer to line will help.
Great FC connection, position & timing at :23!

On the 2nd run – She had a good collection on the jump after the tunnel at :40 too – it might have also been a bit on the edge of the bubble because she really slowed herself down between the tunnel exit and the jump to sort out the jumping – so you can go in 2 steps deeper to the tunnel after 1 so you don’t get too far ahead of her there. Gauging lines with smaller dogs (how deep into tunnels should we go?) is one of the big learning curves in agility!
The around cue being earlier was great at :42 – she exited the tunnel looking at the backside and had a great line there. And – it was totally within her bubble for backsides – you were pretty far but she understood how to jump the backside without you need to be close. The ME cue was a little later than you usually give it, perhaps because her backside was so efficient and tight! Woohoo!!

OMG the rooster looked so judgey that he didn’t get a chance to run the sequence! LOL!!! What a handsome dude!!

Nice work here 🙂

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>> Perhaps that’s why I’m finding our disc to be coming together more easily than agility, despite my greater experience in agility…sorry, nerd pondering!>>>

Agility is super complex, it is different every single time. I think it is one of the more complex dog sports.

>> Do you think I’m expecting too much for her to turn even more tightly than our best videos? Specifically jump 3 out of the tunnel.>>

I think the turn on 3 specifically might get a tiny bit tighter, but not much tighter or it becomes too much of a wrap and not enough of a 180. But for now, no need to ask for more because she is still sorting out all of the jumping on that type of line 🙂
T

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