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Hi again! That little tunnel might be the cutest thing on this planet! She did beautifully on these – little tiny girl doing better than most adult big dogs! I LOVE how she drove out to the pinwheel jump, especially on that last rep. You didn’t have to do much to get her to do it and that allowed you to move away down the line on the 2nd rep & 3rd rep – she definitely seemed to love the chase element of that, but she didn’t lose her mind – she found the jump correctly too! Nice work throwing the reward to the middle jump on some reps, keeping the value high. We build on this tomorrow, she is most definitely ready. Well done!
Tracy
Hi Anne! This was really interesting to watch (I watch all the grids in slow motion because the dogs move so fast LOL!)
On the 1st rep, she took off early. 2nd rep – NICE striding. 3rd rep – she split the difference between reps 1 and 3 – not quite leaping but maybe not as balanced as rep 2? And the last rep, where the jump was further away, she was nice and balanced again. What does it mean?I think she is still sorting it out and just needs more experience, reading the grid plus the reward plus the leaves LOL! But she is always adjusting for the better so she is figuring it out in a really good way. The balance grid looks really great on each rep. So re-visit this striding grid here and there in the next couple of weeks, especially as we add more challenge, and see how she does as she gains more experience 🙂
Nice job!
TracyHi!
>>If you only knew how many times I told myself to stay in place, it’s hard. Needed bars like you had.>>
Yes, I feel that pain, that is why I put the box down haha!And yes, she was a lovely combo of thoughtful but also fast – perfect!! She did a really nice job finding the lines and also setting up the turn (the type of turn on the pinwheel jump is actually pretty hard! She set up the pinwheel turn to the left better than to the right, but I think that got better with experience – the right turns were as she was figuring out the game and then left turns were after she figured it out 🙂 You had a right turn at 1:32 that was better than the rights at the beginning of the session, so I think on the next session – start her turning left on the pinwheel jump, get her in the groove, then go to the right turns.
She didn’t appear to have any questions when you added distance – yay! So you can definitely re-visit this with gradually increasing distance, I think she will be fine with that.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>> (it’s just because you commented on her solid start line)
Haha sorry, my bad 🙂
The grid is looking really good! Glad the growth plates are closed and the chiro vet says we can proceed with more in terms of jumping! She had her head a little up on the early reps but the last couple were solid in form. There are two ways to proceed here, separate them out into different sessions:
in one session, move the last jump out progressively by a foot each time: 15, 16, 17, 18 feet and see if she can extend her one stride.
in a different session, raise the height of the last jump – 10″ for a rep or two, then 12″ for a rep or two, and see how it goes!
At some point, we will add height and different distances, but not until we see what she thinks of the different variables.It took her a moment to get the hang of the lazy pinwheel, but by the last rep she had it on the first video! Nice! Then she was great on the next video. Yay! You can start the next session with a reminder of this same distance then see if you can pull the middle jump out a foot or two to add some distance.
Nice work here!!!
Tracy
Wheeee! This was fun. As 2 of my dogs would says, “Balls are LIFE.” Glad Enzo agrees!!
I am also glad that he does NOT lose his head when he is more stimulated… I cannot even begin to tell you how lovely that it is!!
On the jump grids – I am going to assume he is balanced in the ladder element of them, I can’t see them but he is balanced on the jumps that I can see! Most of the reps were really lovely! OK, they were all lovely but he had some questions (subtle ones): what was the distance between the last 2 jumps at :13, :15, :17? He tried to take a big extended one stride at :13 – not the prettiest one stride ever, but I appreciated his effort. He appears to have not enjoyed how it felt in the moment, because on the next rep (same distance I think) at :15, he added a stride (2 stride distance). But then that wasn’t comfy, so he tried a nicer looking one stride at :17. Yay! Depending on the distance, you can make it one or two feet shorter, so he gets really happy with the feeling of the extended one stride, then we move it back out.
Same thing happened at :21 – he tried a big one stride, didn’t like it, added back a stride at :23. So you can tweak the distances more gradually – let me know and we can game plan.The pinwheels are all looking good, great job driving in then driving out, he could chase you and the drive ahead, a nice balance! He liked chasing you to the backsides too! Really nice at 20″ – speed and drive without sacrificing the turns and jumping style. Nice! Only 2 bloopers, but both handler-induced: the bar down at :48 was just a dramatic stop and toy throw as he was taking off. And at :58 he bypassed the jump – but the handling did look like a backside push and you were saying go tunnel, so he just scooted past the jump. No worries! A ‘do no wrong’ approach and reward all the things like you did will help him really open up.
Well done here! Let me know what you think!!
TracyHi!
Yes, the stay is the hardest part of this! It end up being over 30 feet, not so easy! So you can back chain it for the stay – start in front of the last jump of the balance grid, then the 2nd to last jump and then back at the first jump. You had 4 jumps in the ladder, you can also pair that down to 3 jumps to make the entire grid a little shorter for the stay element.
He did not seem to have any trouble with the striding and got better and better as he saw it! He is doing 1 stride on the 15 feet then 2 strides on 18 feet, but it was well-done. He might go to a 1 stride when he is older and the last bar is higher, but I think he is doing well on this right now – the jumping is easy, the stay is hard 🙂On the lazy pinwheel, I think you should pull it in closer so he finds it easier and gallops more. If he appears a bit not-into-it, you can pull it in closer mid-session and also add more motion – the goal is that he gets zippy through these, so if you see it is hard on any given day for whatever reason, you can make it easier 🙂 Plus, since this doesn’t have a lot of motion and we know he really loves to chase you, you can mix in a few reps where you run if he lets you be lazy on the first jump or 2 – I think running to chase you is a big reward for him 🙂
About the # of reps – I generally count the # of jumps a dog does in a session (especially a young dog) so if the reps are broken into little bits like here, you can try to limit the session to 20 jumps. We just don’t want to overwork their bodies 🙂Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
I feel that! The MM is LIFE for so many dogs… except when it is in a jump grid. LOL! So strange but I have seen it before.
Hi Nelci! He is looked good, his jumping style is starting to mature really nicely and he is growing into his body. Nice!!! One specific detail about the send step – try not to step towards the middle of the pinwheel jump, think of stepping more towards the takeoff spot. That will keep your shoulders more open to him and therefore your connection will be more open to him. When you step more to the wing of the middle jump, it risks turning your shoulders away/breaking connection and that can cause him to pull off a line. It didn’t happen here but it might happen on a bigger course when there are more obstacles to choose from.
He dropped a bar on one rep, i think it was a combo of the step to the wing of 2 and then you were praising over the bar – so you can add in some verbals over the bar to proof it, then reward for keeping the bar up.
Everything else is looking really good! You can add in a tunnel before this to add speed for him and challenge for you to get your timing and cues and connection at a higher speed 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi! I think overall, if we make the training less about thinking and more about silly fun, I bet he will be less likely to eat stuff. Even in high rate of success sessions, he will sometimes eat stuff during resets or if the challenge is difficult. So let’s take a double approach – lots of toys instead of food (they tend to keep him happier in training) and lots of engagement during resets. So feel free to use a toy during the jump grids – he is NOT a lunatic so I am confident that he will be fine if you make the grids more exciting with dropping a ball after you release him or dropping a tug toy 🙂
On the resets – you can keep him tugging or throw balls around, and also mix in bringing him back by the collar with the chatter you did in the class today – I call it talking dirty hahahaha – he seemed to like that! And very short fun sessions then quit.
I think that approach can help with the commitment stuff too: fast, fun transitions with lots of engagements during resets.The paper challenge is an interesting puzzle. Yes, do the its yer choice games but you can also do it in the form of the ‘getting it right the first time’ variation (have you seen those? If not, I will get them for ya!) and then transfer it to real life house situations like with paper in your kitchen or something. Also, have you taught him an alternate behavior, such as sitting on a bed? You can teach him that, in the presence of paper, to go offer sitting on the bed and he will get jackpotted. And have a bed or cot or something in each room where he might grab paper 🙂 What does he do with the paper when he gets it? I wonder if he can be rewarded with the paper? Let me know what you think and we will keep planning!
TracyHi Tracy,
>>on the Send&Go pinwheels, with Voodoo on the last reps with a lot of distance you used your arm to help the dog, so when the distance is greater can use the arm to send?>>>
Awww baby Voodoo!! The arm was NOT the main part (or even a deliberate part) of the cue, it was just flappy form with me trying to take a big step to the middle jump. So yes, an arm can be used on the send because you will find that the physics of the motion is going to want to get your arm to move (centrifugal force). It will feel really weird to not move your arm at all and that might make you too stiff or awkward, instead of moving freely. So big step, big connection… and if your arm flies around, no big deal as long as you can maintain the connection and the step (my flappy arm was high but didn’t change connection). The main thing is to NOT use your arm to point forward to the jump when the dog is parallel to you or behind you – that breaks connection and turns your shoulders away from the line you want.
With Hot Sauce, I am MUCH better about being able to stay connected and keep the arm better behaved LOL!!!T
Hi!
It is perfectly fine to keep that last jump super low (all the jumps super low) because of her age – we can teach all this as concepts then the bars can start to come up when she is “of age” which will be sometime after a year old. There is no rush because there are no trials and she is still a pup 🙂First rep – yep, self-release – speedy but then she lifted her head when she was coming up the line, perhaps thinking “oopsie!” LOL!!
2nd rep – ok, she did the same leaping between 3 and 4, so it was not an oopsie thing like I thought on rep 1.
Rep 3 – same leaping. I think the leaping between 2 and 3 was not because she has a jumping question, but more because of the reinforcement. Sometimes the reinforcement elicits a leap and a pounce, and I think that is what she was doing here (I see that same pounce in lots of dogs :))But on rep 4, she did NOT do the leap/pounce, she had nice striding – so, what did you do differently on that last rep? I can’t see it on the video, but I am wondering if you changed the type of or position of the reward? Whatever you did…. keep doing it LOL!!! Or maybe she just sorted it out? Let me know! And we can do other things to get her to target the line on grids without leaping, such as a different type of target (less stimulating). Her form on the first 3 jumps looks good and she doesn’t look off balance at all, so I think it was more about the reinforcement. Let me know what you think 🙂 Nice job!
TracyHi! Her commitment on the pinwheels looked GREAT! The middle jump was miles away and she had no questions. Yes, your arm was a little pointy 🙂 but it is something she is likely to see happen on course and I was very happy to see her commit anyway. You can toss the reward out past that middle jump more – you were marking the commitment but throwing for the last jump, so feel free to mix it up. You an also add challenge by running after more when she commits to the middle jump: can she still commit to jump 3 when you are hauling butt away? That would be a good time to reward jump 3. And if it continues to be really easy for her (yay!) then you can add a tunnel in and start in a tunnel before and after the pinwheel 🙂
Nice job!
THi! Her commitment on the pinwheels looked GREAT! The middle jump was miles away and she had no questions. Yes, your arm was a little pointy 🙂 but it is something she is likely to see happen on course and I was very happy to see her commit anyway. You can toss the reward out past that middle jump more – you were marking the commitment but throwing for the last jump, so feel free to mix it up. You an also add challenge by running after more when she commits to the middle jump: can she still commit to jump 3 when you are hauling butt away? That would be a good time to reward jump 3. And if it continues to be really easy for her (yay!) then you can add a tunnel in and start in a tunnel before and after the pinwheel 🙂
Nice job!
THi!
He is still processing this grid, and that is a good thing! We want them to think about the jumping. It is easiest to see by watching his hind end: On the first rep, he was off balance over the oxer. Better on the 2nd rep! Off balance on the 3rd rep (new distance). A little better on the 4th rep – but I think he can use more experience to work up to this distance here,
Adding the stride at 21″ is possible for his size as long as it is balanced and comfortable – first rep was not comfortable looking, the last stride was short and relatively close to the jump. He was just reading it, and that is fine. 2nd rep was better but not fully comfy yet – he hasn’t decided if that stride works for him or not, yet.So here is a suggestion for the next session on this:
Start at the first position, so 2 or 3 reps. Then move the oxer out by one foot. Do a rep or two, call it a day.Then the next session can start where you left off for a couple of reps, then you move it out by a foot – do a rep or 2, call it a day.
By moving the oxer out with a low bar by just a foot each time, you can get him more practice on each distance while more gradually increasing the challenge. And he won’t notice as much when the challenge changes, so he will be abl to have a nice long stride each time.
Lazy pinwheel – you did a great job staying in motion as he was on you right side! He really drove around it. You were not as smooth staying in motion when he was on your left, it might not be as comfortable so keep reminding yourself to stay in motion. Also, remember to keep these sessions in the 4-rep range. It gets super easy for the amount of jumps to add up especially when we don’t have to run LOL!!
On the send and go pinwheels…. he had the concept really quickly, nice job committing and rewarding! The rewards where nicely spread out over the different jumps and he seemed to have no problems committing.
>> I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to say “jump” or directional cue for this game.
For his size, I would just say “jump” because left and right will end up being more of a 90 degree turn.
However – definitely tooooooooo many reps here. I counted 54 jumps on this video alone. It is hard for us to feel that because we aren’t really running on these exercises but even with a low bar, 54 jumps it too much for one session. Yes, I am obsessive about # of jumps LOL! but the PTs that worked with the team that I was on or coached all asked me to count the number of jumps the dogs did, because it played a role in keeping them sound.
Plus, from the training side of things, I think we don’t get the same mental sharpness when we do too many jumps.>> but I do notice his line was getting wider as the jumps went further out. Should I expect him to keep a tighter line or is that normal?>>
I think it was likely fatigue – it was happening at the end of Video 3 and on video 4, where the distances make it more challening but he was up at around 100 jumps at that point so there probably wasn’t much gas left in the tank. That is why I am being such a pain about limiting number of reps – we will get better behavior if we spread it all out 🙂 So as hard as it is – increase challenge over the course of several days/weeks, not all in one session. Count the # of jumps he does in each session and try to limit to 25 or less per session – and maybe 2 sessions a day, every couple of days.
Let me know what you think! He is doing really well, so we can keep adding challenge without overworking the jumping efforts.
T
Good morning!
Yes, he definitely loves his toy 🙂 But he worked beautifully for food on that first rep, it looked really good! I think it was a really nice combination of engagement right before you started it and just enough movement to support the line but also still within the boundaries of the lazy game LOL!
2nd rep -he touched the bar on the 2nd jump – so you can leave the middle jump bar lower for now, as he gets better and better at bending his body on these medium collections and especially as you spread them out.
On the 3rd rep – the engagement (ready ready!) and connection helped get him into the correct tunnel entry (when he went into the other end, you had turned to look forward a bit too much). The rest of the rep was good – you had less motion, so he did it but also didn’t move as fast. On the last rep, you were a lot more stationary so he trotted. I suggest using the toy to make it all more exciting, and also the amount of motion you had in the 1st and 2nd reps (medium speed walk). He is doing well! And you can definitely mix in sessions of the pinwheel where you do run run run 🙂
Nice job!
Tracy
