[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Nice work here! For the RCs, I think you found the right balance of where to be on reps 2 and 3 (a shade too far ahead on rep 1). It would be interesting to see what would happen it you got in closer to jump 3 to set the RC but drove forward to the RC diagonal at 4 – it is a precise line but can get you further ahead after the RC for the backside at the end!

Looking at the Backside versus tunnel: He gave really good feedback! I think the main thing is the think about running parallel lines to the obstacle you want:

For the backside, when he is jumping 2 he needs to see the entry wing so ideally you are on a parallel path to the center of the bar of the backside (or even further over). That means lateral distance away from 2 – when you got in close to jump 2, it was much harder to show the backside.

At :30 you were on his line and blocking the wing – body said tunnel and mouth said jump. You can see that he looked at you, saw the motion, then went to the tunnel.

You cleared the line more at :42 but it was late (running forward close to 2 then moved over to 3) so he made a last minute adjustment

You were earlier about going to the backside at :48and 1:1 1 so he got it sooner! You were still showing the tunnel line a bit while he was at 2, but moving sooner to 3 definitely helped.

On the lat backside rep, you were definitely showing tunnel line at 1:23 so he was looking at the tunnel then looked at you as moved laterally.

So as you keep angling the backside, you can send to 1 and don’t go anywhere near 3 – just run to the center of the bar at the backside.

The parallel line will help the until too, but further away from 2 as well. When you wanted the tunnel at :53, you were actually starting on a great line for the backside 🙂 You can see him look at you to affirm that yes, it is the tunnel LOL
Then at 1:01 you didn’t have a parallel line to the tunnel so as you were pulling away – so he pulled off the line too.
Pulling away a bit less at 1:06 helped get the tunnel there and on the other reps.
So for a strong parallel line here, your goal os to run a line parallel to 2 and the tunnel entry, but as far away as the tunnel exit! That strategically starts as you send to 1 so he sees the parallel line the whole time (and the big loud verbals of course :))

Great job here! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Sorry for the delay – I was waiting for the first video to finish processing but it is still saying it is processing. Maybe it has an error?

On the 2nd video:

The bigger distances definitely added challenge – harder to stay in motion and connected, harder for her to control arousal (she did well with this as the handling info got clearer and clearer!)

At the beginning, to set up the next line:
Be further from 1 so you can be more across the tunnel exit then

Also turn her the other way (to her right) for two reasons:
– it is a better line to the tunnel
– you can move away sooner because you won’t need to step in and cue her to take the tunnel

The biggest struggle on this one was the connection on the tunnel exit at :05, :28, and the other reps. You were looking forward too much so she did not exit knowing where to be next.

Keep going if something goes wrong, even if you have to make up a sequence on the fly. Sometimes you rewarded and some times you did not, but you always stopped there. It is all handler error so the best option is to keep going so she doesn’t get frustrated. You can see that she was having some mini zoomies on the line after the first tunnel, where the frustrating moments happened, even when the connection was clear.

Once you locked into connection and staying in motion, things got a lot smoother (like after 2:08). And you kept going after a blooper so she didn’t get frustrated and there were no zoomies. 🙂

The hardest part on this sequence was turning to her left on jump 2! She consistently turned right there – that means she did not see the rer cross diagonal early enough, so lead out a little less (her stays looked good!) so you can set the RC a lot sooner so she can adjust her takeoff to turn left.

Finding the layering looked good the you set the line. Lots of motion and connection really helped!!

Doing the FC to get her back to the other side of the tunnel opened up the tunnel – a blind will work better there because you can show the line sooner and get out of the way sooner 🙂

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! The Hot Topics went well!
Looking at the different sequences:

Video 1 -Brake arms can totally help these turns! She had a question at the beginning about whether the 3 jump was a threadle wrap or not – you had 2 hands and a lot of shoulder pull away from the line. The brake arms can be different looking with open hands, palms down or facing her, that are visible to her but kind of locked in place (not swooshing around at all).
And your motion can still face the front of the bar, no extra pull needed – the brake arms just get added on top of that to add to the turns. You got that smoother and smoother – to get the RCs, you can be closer to the 3 jump to set the line so you are not as far ahead for the RC. That actually puts you further behind the next line.

On the BCs 3-4 and the tunnel layering balance: the cues were very distinct and she read them well! You can lead out more on both of those: with a bigger lead out, you will be better across the BC line when she needs to be there (you were on her line so she went around you). And with a bigger lead out, you will have more time to cue the tunnel exit and be well past it when she exits.

Video 2: looking at backside versus front side versus tunnel: You don’t need her name on this before the backside, let’s use the backside verbal versus the tunnel verbal. Your backside verbal and tunnel verbal sounded really different (yay!) so the difference in sound plus the position should get it very clear for her. She is doing great!! The name call should put her into some handler attention and set up a front side or more of a turn.

Positionally, you can be further across the bar on the backside (closer to the exit wing) which will help get the discrimination and also help get the exit more easily because you will be able to get past the exit wing sooner.

Video 3:

Push wrap started off well! Then at :12 she ended up in the tunnel: you pushed her off the wrap by moving forward before she was really past you and before she turned to the bar – the motion forward, plus the connection of looking at her and not at the landing spot made it look like a RC on the flat (into the tunnel :))

A more experienced dog might be able to push past you there? But mainly you can wait in the position for one more heartbeat until she cues you to move forward again. She will cue it by moving past you and turning to the bar (if she hasn’t turned to the bar yet, you can’t leave yet – that first step is important). You held position a lot better and you can see her cues (like at 2:06) so that is what you want to wait for at this point.

You added additional verbals to get her to the backside but I don’t think you needed to – she was always coming to the backside (yay!), it was the timing of you moving forward that was the question. But you were more patient on your motion on the other reps and she did great!

Adding the threadle:
On the first reps, she needed at turn cue on 4 to set up the turn to the threaddle (and help her come off the line to the backside). The turn cue was much better at :52, so the next step is to really open up the threadle shoulder and stay in motion…. But slow steady motion to help isolate the skill.

Walking through it (like 1:06) was great! That is something to show her for now, so she can process all of the cues happening. You added decel and foot rotation on some of the later reps (where she got ahead and got the threadle) but I like the slow steady motion better because it is truer to the motion she will see.

You will be able to crank up the motion pretty soon and won’t need to turn your feet – which will make it easier to get to the blind on time. The BC ended up late or out f position when you were decelerating or rotating in the threadle (getting the front side of 7 on some of them) so definitely add staying in slow, steady motion through the threadle so you are in better position for that.

I think by about 2:20 she was toast on this sequence (and also on the 4th video) You were a lot of reps into the sequence at this point so she was slower, left the stay, not as responsive. You will probably want to shelve this for a couple of days and let latent learning percolate, then revisit it.

4th video – she was definitely toast here, definitely slower. The can of worms of the layered threadle was probably best left to a different session, because she was trying to sort it out but was tired, and also the info was not as clear because you might have been tired too 🙂 You can always ended a session without getting the correct behavior, because whippet brains will figure it out on their sleep and come back knowing it (it is as if we have uploaded a course map LOL!!!). She did get it at the very end, so leave it be for a bit and revisit after a few days. It is a hard skill but I am sure we will be seeing it on course soon!!

Courses: This is going well! There are a lot of places where you matched the walk through to the run really well! And some good learning spots about strategically setting up lines and giving info.

Two suggestions:
On the walk through, add in a lot more verbals. I could only really hear the occasional tunnel verbal and you had a lot more verbals than that in the run 🙂

You can also add in more running on the walk through. Yes, it is exhausting… but it will get you very comfy with the speed you will need to be moving with during the actual run. That helps especially at a trial, when space in a walk through is so limited and you can’t really run. We are training your brain for her speed 🙂

Course 1:
Strategically on the opening, this is a place where you don’t need a lead out on 1. You can start closer to 1 so there is a ton of motion into the layering and so you don’t get caught decelerated too far down the line for the sprint back to the 6 Threadle and weaves.

On the run, you handled it as you planned – she totally seemed to understand the layering and didn’t need much help at all besides your verbals (you had some turn cues planned but she didn’t need them). By leading out further than needed, you were late getting to 6 so there was too much acceleration at :27 and she shot past the threadle. That is good info that she doesn’t need a lot of help in the layering and you can get way up the line for 6-7!!!!

Great Exit line connection at :21 in the walk through. (BC 8-9). You matched it perfectly in the run at :25 🙂 which allowed you to time the turn cue on the tunnel as well. That is exactly what we want!

That section went REALLY well… there was a bar down at :39 on the run because you were standing still and praising – no time for praise on course with your tiny rocket ship – run and tell her about 11-12-13 🙂 That is all the praise she needs LOL!!!

Add more exit line connection on the spin exit at :30 in the walk through (jump 10). She found the line there but you were pointing a bit forward, so we want to keep rehearsing pointing back to her and making the big connection.

The hardest past of the course here was 16-17-18-19. On the walk through, the line to 16 was unclear. I think the way it was set is it is more of a serp from the tunnel exit and not a threadle for her.

On the run, she had questions about it – at :49 the open shoulders pushed her o the backside Then at 1:13 you overcompensated and did a threadle cue from really far away, which is why she came in towards (because threadles do involve coming towards the handler). It is more of a serp from the weave exit to the front of 16, so moving along the line from the exit of the weaves to the exit wing of 16 can present a serp line to her more.

The TW after the a-frame was also hard. 2 suggestions for that:

Start the cue when she is still on the a-frame. Ideally, she is seeing it as she comes over the top of the a-frame so she exits ready for the TW. On these reps, you were started when she exited the frame which made the info late (there is so much speed and momentum coming off the running contacts that the next cue has to be delivered while they are still on it – the joys of running contacts!)

Also, I think your physical cue varies and so she is not consistently seeing a clear TW cue.

At 1:16, you had a shoulder pull with a forward arm so you got the backside. More decel at 1:34 and more shoulder pull at 2:08 helped – but I am not sure what your threadle wrap cue is: one hand forward, or low closer to you, (like the walk through) or 2 hands? More clarity there will help you consistently show it to her so she can respond better.

The ending went well, adding the threadle to the last jump really helped based on how this was set.

Course 2:
Looks like 1 was on th wrong side in the walk and the run, but either way you still had a great send on the line and to the dog walk to get way ahead!

For the push wrap at 4 – remember to rehearse letting her get past you and turn to the jump and wait for her cue for you to leave, same as in the hot topics. You kept moving forward at :45 before she passed you which pushed her off the line. Good job getting her back and continuing!!!

Backside after a-frame unclear at :32 in the walk through.
It was very clear in the run! Be sure to rehearse the handling cues in the walk through, because you ended up in a different spot on 7 (it was not clear in the walk through but appeared to be landing side of 7).

You got it really well (low 2-handed threadle wrappy move – she read all of those 2-handed cues here PERFECTLY so that is something to consider because she is not reading the one-hand TW moves as well on the first try).

You did a serp 9-10-11 in the walk through. You have time to do a cross 9-10 since she can weave independently.

In the run, you tried for the cross but hadn’t walked it… you were early with high arms at :57 so she correctly did not take 9. Keep going there! Try to save the refusal or fix it and continue. That will help trialing!

And in the walk through, walk all of the options so you are ready for anything 🙂
You are positionally a bit too far over on the BC at 1:08 but timing was better so she got the jump. Then too much decel and turn cue (not really needed there because she can set up the line to the tunnel pretty independently) put too much pressure into the takeoff spot which read like a RC/turn away and she turned the wrong way on 10.

Keep going! Save the back jump and carry on. Yes, she was getting rewarded with the toy but at this point trying to continue is better for trial prep (more on that below).

For the jump after the tunnel there (12) you can use forward cues to get her to commit at the distance. I think you were using turn cues so she was turning 🙂 The more you rehearse those verbals in the walk through, the easier it will be to get them out before she goes into the tunnel.

Back on track for the 14-15 line – you ran it as you walked it, with a decel two hands on the TW to the left. NICE!

Handling the TW at 17 dog on right really hard for baby dog so she didn’t quite get it at first (too hard to see the threadle wrap cues with you on the other side of the DW for now). Moving back towards the jump really helped her!

More about continuing when something has gone wrong rather than stop and restart:

The stop and go (even with a toy) can be frustrating plus it doesn’t give you a moment to reset and show clearer handling. We see it here when she is just sending herself to various lines at 1:50 for about 15 seconds, trying to guess and frustrated (and tired) – plus the cue to wrap 15 is a right wrap cue and you wanted her to turn to her left. So there was more stop and go there (failures) until you clarified it more at 2:14. The dogs know this is a game of “keep going” and they are brilliant are reading us – so if we stop and deliver a toy at our side in the middle of a course with a ‘good girl’ or ‘nice try’, that is actually not going to be a reward (it is more of an interference or can be a punisher). If you use a marker and reward placement (like “get it!” Or something that indicates correct response) that can be more of a reward. But continuing is also a reward for effort and is a great way for both of you to think on your feet and have resilience to little bloopers 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>So I don’t have a verbal when I lead out and call them to backside should I?>>

You can use your ‘in in’ threadle slice verbal here! It is the same behavior for Roux even if it is not the same handling 🙂

She did really well on these – there were a couple of bloopers where you were in the way of the bar (:14) or she was lined up straight past jump 1 (2:08) but overall, she did great!

The harder part was the lead out push, where she took the front of the jump. You will get a better turn if you lead out right on her line to 3 and then start moving to 3 sooner: no later than when she is halfway between 1 and 2. That will help her set up the collection She was hitting your leg because you were stationary on her landing line for too long 🙂

And as you move towards 3, keep your connection back to her and your dog-side arm back like a serp. That will deliver info about which side of you to be on. You were closing your shoulders to 3, so she didn’t always know where to be like at 1:27 where she went behind you. If you close your shoulders forward, it looks like a blind so that was a legit response from her.

The Layering sequences are a good challenge to tackle! The key to getting the layering is to be moving along a parallel line while maintaining big connection (low arm, so she can see the connection).

You can also make the verbals sound more different – the left verbal can be longer and softer. The tunnel verbal can be bigger and louder in contrast to the left verbal. The differences in length and volume will really help her differentiate.

A couple of other ideas as you build up the layering:

She had no trouble turning to you instead of continuing to the tunnel. Nice! So we can build up the value for layering to the tunnel (that will be a useful skill).

You broke it down nicely to help introduce the concept to her and that totally helped. A couple of other things to do to help her out:

After jump 4, getting ready for the layering: keep your arm down, and say the verbals to her more directly with super big connection. Then move away on a parallel path to the line you want her to take to the tunnel, You were stepping a little past 4 then stepping back past the layering jump, so she saw a bit of a pull in the motion which took her off the layering line.

You can also use reward placement to build up the skill. At first, you can put the toy out on the line just before the tunnel entry so she sees it as she is layering. She will target to it and then hopefully have a big lightbulb moment 🙂 Then you can change the reward placement to throw it at the tunnel exit so she gets a lot of value for finding the tunnel in that context.

Also, you can take out the bar on the layered jump so as you are cuing the tunnel, you can move between the uprights a little to support the line a bit.

For the sequences here she is exiting the tunnel and heading up the line or turning to the jump, you can deliver that information before she goes into the tunnel. When she is a solid 6 feet in front of the tunnel entry, you can be calling her and turning your shoulders (for the turn) or yelling GO GO GO and moving forward with some acceleration (for the layering :))

Adding the BC on the jump after the tunnel will make handling the lines easier (less rotation). You can finish the BC before she exits the tunnel so she sees the new side sooner (you were a bit late at 6:08 when you had her on your left til she was almost past the jump, so she though it was a forced front cross on the backside like the earlier sequences. You had much better timing at 6:28 and she read it really well!!

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

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I think I was a bit late on several of the turns, so I got wide turns.>>

It was not timing that caused the wider turns, it was exit line connection not being visible enough.

For example, on the first video, you got all of the blinds started before she got to the wing. Yay! Many were really good, like at :47. One was too early (1:38, she had just exited the tunnel). When that happens, don’t stop there and withhold reward. Keep going and reward the next thing, because all errors are handler errors 🙂

What will tighten the turns is showing her the new side more clearly with exit line connection. On the blinds, you were tending to finish the blind with the dog side hand next to you and your connection to where you wanted her to be (next to you on the new side). So she did not actually see the connection, she mainly saw your back and went wide waiting for more info.

To make the exit line connection clearer as you finish the blind, have the toy in the dog side as she exits the tunnel. Then put it across your body as you exit it, to make a big connection back to her eyes and to push the new dog side arm back and out of the way. Think of it as making a big connection back to where she actually is (exiting the wing) not where you want her to be.

You had really good exit line connection on the front crosses, so also had really good turns 🙂

Here are some screen grabs so you can see the differences in the connections:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URf5s7Bg6JRHY4-MZad-z61iD3HWt9pRE80XdQIanlc/edit?usp=sharing

Video 2:

The double blinds are basically 2 really quick exit line connection changes. Yo were a bit too early on the 2nd blind because she did not get past the 2nd wing (you were doing both blinds in between wings 1 and 2). So ideally you would do the first blind before she gets to the first wing and keep moving away with great exit line connection. Then as you and she pas the middle wing, you can do the 2nd blind (with exit line connection). Think of it as a blind cross on the wing then a blind on the flat. That will also help your FC to BC – you can do the FC on the wing, keep running to the 3rd wing, and then do the blind on the flat as she passes the 2nd wing. There will be a delay between the first cross and the 2nd one.

Nice work here! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! The Oklahoma sunset is gorgeous!

Teeter looked great! Nice speed to the top!!!

Zig zag – you were correct to change the distance. On the first rep, he bounced it but it looked like he was not comfy with such a huge bounce, so he added a stride on the 2nd rep. That is smart! But also that is not the goal of this grid, so shortening the distance was perfect – nice bouncing!

Keeping this distance, we can now ask him for more power: Start him closer to jump 1 now, right up again the wing so he has to jump in a bit sideways and he also so he has to power in off his hind end – no strides before jump 1 🙂 Because he is little, he probably will be about 4 inches from the first bar so that he doesn’t get a chance to a stride before takeoff or to tap his front feet before takeoff. All power from the rear there! And you can move the manners minder another 5 or 6 feet away from jump 2, so he has more extension room to get to it after landing.

Great job here!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This is looking really good and her commitment is strong, even with the jumps 5m apart!!!! Keep building up the distance so she can learn to run the bigger courses.

Her stay is definitely improving! Add in turning the direction you want her to go in before you release, so she doesn’t release when you turn to the line. We want the release to not be associated with movement.

And resist the temptation to let her start without you, if you have asked her for a stay or if she starts as soon as you get the toy back. When that happens, call her back and reset. You can reset with a cookie because it is not nearly as high in value as the running 🙂 You don’t need to start all the runs from a stay, but you need her to be engaged with you and wait for your cue to start rather than her taking off and you chasing her 🙂

The FC exits are looking good, especially when you kept moving and connected back to her.

Nice countermotion and staying in motion at 1:19! Great decel at 1:28!! She commits and turns really well. Overall, a really good session. As you work through the sequences, keep reminding yourself to keep your arms down. They tarted to get a little high later in the session, like at 1:45 where your hand was over your head. You were still connecting by looking under your arm, but having it that high up makes it harder to keep moving

Also keep connected on the exit of the tunnels – at 2:17 for example you were looking ahead so she exited the tunnel looking at you for more info. She did go find the jump but ideally you are connected to get a smoother line.

>>when is last date submissions as we still have alot to catch up on-have been taking some things slow and weather not cooperative for a while.>

The last day for videos is September 23rd, which hopefully gives everyone time to get through the crazy winter/summer weather.

>>When does max pup 4 start- lookng at organising having her spayed but need to get timing right.>>

That is a very good question! Probably middle of October – MP3 ends late September, then I have a couple of weeks of travel. I hope to have the actual date settled today!

Great job here 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>As you know, she wants me to be right there by her jumping, but she also gets mad when I can’t keep up with her and tell her where to go next. And she doesn’t like countermotion, so I have to wait longer than I’d like to before leaving in a lot of situations.>>

Yes – I think it is primarily a visual processing thing which affects the jumping, so she gets frustrated when she can’t do both (process the jump approach and see your handling cues). But knowledge is power, so you knowing how she needs to receive cues will dramatically help you plan courses!

>>On the first run, I stopped after the tunnel because she had a pretty nasty fall on the jump prior to it. She landed on her head, and I wanted to make sure all of her body parts were still attached. They seemed to be, so we did continue with training. I think this goes back to the issue I just mentioned with me being ahead. >>

I am glad she is ok!
It was not really a connection issue as much as a transition question: I think it happened because you were decelerated as if cuing a turn there, then took off down the line as she was sorting off a takeoff spot, so she tried to manage the takeoff and read the handling info and could not. Staying in acceleration closer to the jumps might help her manage the takeoff spot as well as keep you far enough ahead for the next line.

The 2nd run through there had more acceleration and no sudden changes so she read it a lot better.

Too much decel at 3:04 had a bar down there too – so staying in motion along the line is the best bet and also you won’t end up giving a conflicting indicator of decel (turn cue) follow by acceleration (extension cue).

>>She did much better with the threadle wrap at 7>>

Yes, her commitment is getting a lot better! Even though this is a big course, you can make a lifestyle of dropping rewards in on the landing side of the jumps here and at jump 9 and 13and 15, all the hard countermotion spots. Make it a happy surprise to help solidify her learning.

You can also be more consistent in what the cues look like for the threadle wrap – for several of them (:32, 2:04, 3:08) you were pulling her across your line then rear crossing on the flat to turn her back. Those were wide as she looked at you to sort it all out. Compare to 1:21 where you stayed on the line and did a 2-handed cue with decel and she read it really well, that was the best one!

>>That was how I wanted to run it, but I couldn’t ever seem to get there on time because of the big straight jumping line before it>>

To get that line smoother, you would either need to be further across the bar for the serp by sending her to the backside from the middle of the bar or further across, or decelerate at the middle of the bar and flip her away from the before she takes off without you going past the exit wing. That will likely be the tightest line if you can’t get past the exit wing before she takes off.

She had some trouble on the 11 jump, and that is where the countermotion connection needs to shift to the landing side if you are running past the wing before she takes off (like at 1:05). The countermotion is the ideal handling but she needs you to shift your connection to the landing side to get the commitment as you run through. If you look at her there (and also at 15) she is not likely to commit as you try to move away.

Otherwise you have to wait on the landing side, but that changes the info and can result in bars down.

>>I really don’t want to discourage any forward drive that she shows me, so I’m really trying to get the hang of brake arms so she knows ahead of time where she’s going, >>

They are definitely useful! And there is also an element of countermotion: so to help her get the brake arms, you will want to keep moving forward on the line until you see her front feet liftoff in collection. That will help build up the commitment.

If you leave too soon and she doesn’t take the jump, just keep going as if she did. That will ultimately be more useful for teaching commitment because you can reward somewhere else for taking jumps, rather than stopping and rewarding when she barks at you and doesn’t take jumps.

For example, the jump towards the end at 3:42 is very similar and you had better holding of the line til she was lifting off, before you turned away for the post turn to run up the line.

>>I was asking if she thought was going to actually catch the butterfly this time. >>

Ha! Life goals = butterfly catching!!!

Course 2: lots of good parts here!

Small detail on the opening – you can give her an earlier turn verbal for 2 so she can adjust before takeoff. The tunnel cue happened as she was lifting off on both runs, so she landed then turned.

On the 2nd run, you did a nice job of converging in to the threadle slice on 4 (1:27) so she was very smooth there. O the first run, you were more forward so it kind of looked lie a threadle wrap (:20).

The 6-7-8 line was the hardest part, I believe. Part of what was happening was you were giving her a left verbal on 6 which was actually too tight of a turn. You can see her respond to it at :28 and that took her off the line entirely. A jump cue (which is moderate extension) is likely best there.

>>I was late connecting on the blind before the tunnel, which gave us problems the first time as well. I wasn’t confident about doing a blind there, but there was no way she would have turned away after the tunnel and then layered that jumping line on her own.>>

I think the blind on the entry of the tunnel is the best option because then you can show 9-10-11 really easily! And yes, more connection will help a lot and one more step down the line of the tunnel to support commitment.

The 11-12-13 run went great on the 2nd run when you really drove each line. Nice!!!

She committed well to the 14 backside at :54 and 1:56 but remember to look back to landing – she is jumping to her right here which seems easier than jumping to her left on the same challenge on the other course.

>>There was really only one other problem spot towards the end on the backside before the last tunnel. I actually walked it with the threadle wrap and even practiced just that wrap with her before running the whole thing, but I got on the wrong side for it twice, lol.>>

Handling from that side can work well, just remember that sending ahead to a backside push is a connection cue (more like what you did at 2:00) and not a pointing ahead cue (like at :57 where she came off the line because the pointing turned your shoulders away from it).

Also – is ‘back’ your verbal for both the backside slice and backside wrap? If not, remember to use your backside wrap verbal at 16 🙂 If so… we need to get a backside wrap verbal added to help her know the difference.

And if you dog get a refusal and re-send to the jump, you must use your dog-side leg to step clearly to the jump or she doesn’t go til after more barking/spinning. Each time you did a re-send n this course or the previous course and your dog-side leg was frozen and not stepping forward (usually it was frozen away from the jump), she got another refusal before going to take the jump.

And the go verbal at the end of the 2nd run really worked nicely – it can work with you on either side.

Great job!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

That is a good habit! Running without the tags will open up more processing bandwidth for him 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

The shape of the plan looked really good! On the walk through, you might not have needed to plan for as much threadle arm swinging back during the layering section (but he will let you know during the run).

>>his fascinated me about the walkthrough. You’ll see where I mess up the verbals during my walkthrough between “close” and “in”. I didn’t catch it during the walkthrough, but when I watched the video. It is really interesting how when I add motion (versus just walking) I tend to get the verbals right. >>

That is really cool – if I am reading this correctly, you are getting the verbals correct more when you are running not walking. That is great, because you will be running with him 🙂

My guess as to why this is happening has to do with 2 things:
– possibly state dependent memory, which is basically the brain is more likely to recall something if it is in the same state in which it learned it and uses it (like running versus walking)
– also, the verbals match the physical cues, so it might not make sense to your brain to say a verbal cue when your body is doing something different? Either way, it is cool!

Only two suggestions on the walk through:

– remember that the threadle wrap requires a decel and you have to stay there til he tells you to move again (but looking at & stepping to the correct spot on the wrap). Especially as you added speed, you flew through there without the decel or waiting for his response. Definitely rehearse that so it feels very natural & easy during the run.

Also, emphasize exit line connection. On the blind after the threadle wrap and he BC 6-7, you immediately looked forward when the real dog would still be behind you (and in need of the connection info). So definitely rehearse that o it is natural during the run and you don’t have to actively think about it while running him.

Run 1

BC to threadle wrap worked well. Leading out less so you could show him a big decel can tighten it
Exit line connection was late at 2:49 so he almost went to the wrong side of you then dropped the 4 bar

He didn’t get the threadle but he did get the layering, so it is a big win!

He read position and shoulder turn of the blind at 2:52 really well! Add more exit line connection there to be crystal clear on the line you want.

Breaking out the layered threadle is good, it is a hard skill plus it is an entirely different context and many of the cues are hidden by the tunnel! So keep those effort rewards flowing so he doesn’t get confused or frustrated.

You can add movement into it a the next step – if it is really hard, you can add angling the jump so it is easier to see the threadle line while you are moving too.

Run 3 – you had more decel in the threadle wrap got a little more collection for the the turn. Yay! Moving into it then deceling will put you on a better line – at 2:42 you were blocking the line so he had to go around you to find 4.
Loved your ‘oh shit!’ Moment LOL!!!! I can totally relate 🤣😂

Like with the first run, he is reading the first part of the blind cues for 7 but add more connection there too – it will help support his jumping so he doesn’t have to process too many things at once.

>>It helps him when I’m not as intense since he’s intense for both of us, but I still struggle with doing it.>>

Less intensity often translates into clearer connection and better timing, because we humans are not rushing or blocking the connection. So definitely prioritize the connection and timing over trying to run too fast… as long as you keep moving (no sleeping on the jump 😂🤣) then you’ll feel very smooth and fast!!

>>I’m not visualizing how you use a new “Switch” verbal cue with layering.

Bear in mind that I never use ‘switch’ as a regular rear cross cue (many people use it that way). I only use it when I am turning the dog away from me, and then they have permission to ignore my location and motion 🙂 It helps them predict that I will be using verbals and they should just stay on the line in front of them until further notice.

>>I’m missing a piece in my mental picture or maybe getting confused with the turn-away switch folks use with a rear?>>

Possibly – I use regular directionals or jump cues for regular (non-layering) rears.

>>On the live class exercise – where there is an extension go jump and you are layering from another jump. Is there a way you would use “switch” instead of just “go go jump”?>>

For that sequence: the turn away into the layering happens on jump 2. So you can hear me saying ‘switch switch switch’ between 1 and 2. Then when he has the 2 jump, I change to the GO GO GO verbals. At the end of that sequence, when there is no layering, I just use a wrap directional on the jump before the tunnel.

Let me know if that makes sense! Nice work here!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The Hot Topics sequence looked great – nice job keeping your feet facing forward on the threadle wrap! It will get more comfy feeling the more you play with it. On the 2nd run you were closer to the threadle jump (7) which et a better line. And, also on the 2nd run, your ‘here’ cue was sooner for the last jump so she got the front side. You can make that even sooner – as she exits the wing of 7, you can start the ‘here’ cues so she collects more on 8 to land facing the front of 9.

Looking at the live class games: I agree! These went well!!!! One thing to remember is that you can be quieter in volume on the turn cues, which really help emphasize drawing her towards you on the turns. There were a a few reps where it was hard to hear the turn verbals and that is actually great! They should be pretty quiet to help differentiate them from the big loud extension cues 🙂

>>this exercise really showed me when I didn’t get my timing correct.

Yes! That is why I wanted to do these – it is a bit if a neglected skill LOL and course designs really require good turns (or GO!) on the exit of the tunnels.

She read the turn cues for the left turn at :13 – just be sure to stay connected there so you don’t accidentally pull her off the tunnel by turning and leaving without connection.

Nice job on the Go line at :30 – great GO cues! Yay!!

At :48 it looks like you wanted her to drive ahead. Rather than show decel before the tunnel (which could look like a turn cue) – you can run in closer to 2 to set it up then accelerate through it.

Really good line to backside at 1:10!!! Those cues were later at 1:24 and also louder, plus the physical cue was very forward so she was wide on the exit. So being sooner and also quieter on the turn verbals will help her turn consistently there.

Great layering at 1:44! You don’t need the arm up high as that blocks connection – you can keep your arms down and run run run while you yell go go go 🙂

Getting the turn on 4 after the Go layering line: the timing was a little late at 1:44. You said “go” one more time as she was taking off then after she lifted off, you called her. So she was a little wide.

Really good timing of turn cues at 1:49 on the tunnel! On the high speed sequences, remember to turn your shoulders too and use quieter verbals t really emphasize that it is a turn.

Another good GO layering timing at 2:08 and at 2:10, you started the check verbal as soon as she exited the tunnel – SUPER! She was able to put in a collection stride. You can add decel to that too!
Good verbal timing at 2:16 for the left turn out of the tunnel! The physical cue can be sooner (less forward, more turned to the last jump) and also quieter. The transition from loud to soft really emphasizes the turn cues.

Great job!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>Question about brake arms……seems like they are back in “vogue”? Watching video of mostly the Europeans seems like there’s a lot of 2 handed collection cues these days.>>

They never went out of style 😁🤣😂 I think 2 things are happening:

– We Americans are getting over our distaste for the opposite arm (hopefully) and we are getting much better at using them properly
– Course designs are trending more towards the handler needing to stay in motion and needing physical turn cues to override the forward motion… and the brake arm is perfect for that

Since they work so well and require basically no training, more people are embracing them. There is a big name handler out there who once got BIG MAD at me for using the brake arm in a seminar… who is now using it on course with her dogs to get great turns LOL!

>>I was too far behind. I was trying to set the line back at 2, and he was getting ahead of me at 3 and he was reading the cross as occurring at 3 and going into the tunnel.

Ah! Good boy!!!!

>>I’ll have to try this one again and see if I can find the sweet spot…..not too far behind, not too far ahead >>

The set spot on a RC is generally near the top of the RC diagonal, which is usually on the jump before the RC – and being a tiny bit ahead is great so the dog can go past us just before we cut across to the new side.


>> Rear crosses are definitely “not my thing” – give me a Blind anyday! so it’ll be good for me to play with this some more.>

SAME!!!!! But they are useful, and it is so fun to use them in places where they put us ahead better than a blind would.

Have fun!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! This went well!!

Looking at the warm up reps:

Small detail on the FC warm up: you can point the dog side arm back to her after the cross and that makes the exit line connection even more clear.

BC warm ups – nice!! Very clear exit line connection and your dog-side arm was back to her, opening up the connection.

Tunnel warm up -the 2nd and 3rd reps were really strong. I think you forgot the sequence on rep 1 ) No worries 🙂

FC sequence – good FC on 4! Nice exit line connection!!
FC sequence 2: also good – you can decel sooner (as she is jumping 4) to get the turn info to her as she is landing, setting up earlier info for the turn on 5. The connection was strong!!

BC 4-5: Was this where you mentioned having less exit line connection as the session went on? I think you were trying to do it was but what was making it harder was that you were trying to get to the wing of 4 to start the blind, which made the cues a little late. A better position for the blind is as close to 5 as possible (trust her to take 4 on her own based on your motion and connection, and you can use a jump verbal if you think she might miss it). So no need to run as close to the 3 tunnel or 4 jump – you cn head directly to the 5 jump so you can set up the ELC sooner (2:04, for example). When the timing is a little late, you will end up looking forward on the exit.

At 2:15 and 2:29 you amplified the exit line connection so even though the blind can be sooner, you still got good ELC and that allowed you start the turn cues for 5 on time. That set up great turns!!

On the backside circle sequence: You can add more exit line connection after the turn on 5 (2:47) and after the circle wrap (2:52). You had our dog-side arm pointing out to the side, which blocked the connection so she had a few questions and slowed down there a bit.

Super good exit line connection after the spin on 5 at 3:10!! Yay!!!

>>It looks like I had less exit line connection the more we went on. I had to think more on the handling and also managing her happiness levels.>>

This is what I see happening for all of us – we start strong with the exit line connection but because it is not yet fully locked into our brains, it slips a bit when we don’t actively think about it 🙂 So give yourself (and her) lots breaks and emphasize it in each walk through and for each sequence. That will lock it in and then you won’t have to think of it as much, especially as the handling gets more complex.

Great job here!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Good work on these sessions!

She was happy to bang the teeter around!!! She seems unconcerned about the noise or movement. It took her a moment to realize she was supposed to do a 2o2o on the teeter, but she did figure it out with a bit of physical cue/cookie lure.

For the next session, since the board is moving – have the target in position already (and use the same thing as the target, so it is predictable – a plastic lid is perfect for that).

In terms of placement of the target, it can be closer to the end of the board, approx 6 inches past it. We want her front feet to have enough room to step off the board but not much more than that, so she will end up with her front feet just past the end of the board. That way you can play the bang game with the target out there.

>How important is it that she actually touches the target? I’m assuming she needs to so that she’s not just starting at me, and it keeps her body forward??>

It is not important that she nose touches the target – a head bob is fine as she moves into position. The bang game with the target in place will help her sort out looking forward and being straight on the end of the board.

Looking at the handling video:
The tandem turns went great at the beginning of the video! You can have your hands visible sooner – you can show them to her just before she enters the tunnel so she is ready for them at the exit (and sees them before she exits)

Threadle wraps looking good too – you can fade out the flip back with your hands so she flips herself away. You can do that by staying near the wing and maintaining the cue til she turns away, then throw reward behind you to the landing spot.

And as you add more speed (like from the tunnel) you can also add more decel because there is decel on these turn away cues. Too much acceleration will cause her to turn toward you.

As she is exiting the tunnel, let her see you already decelerating so she can read that as part of the turn cue. At 2:01 and 2:17, for example, there was a lot of forward motion so she did not read the turn away until you stopped moving when she was passing the wing

Nice job using 2 toys here – one for throwing, one for tugging when she came back!

Nice work! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>She’s more concerned about me taking her collar than the bang or movement at this point.>>

Yes – she is happy to slam the teeter around but she doesn’t like being moved by her collar. At the beginning she tolerated it, but then you can see a bit more avoidance on each rep (which affected the quality of the hop into position because she was not using her hind as much and had a bit of a crunched body position). It was as if she was thinking about the collar movement that was coming rather than the teeter game.

Ideally you would line yourself up, lure her next to you, then you can gently put a hand on her collar (or have her put her collar in your hand). If you feel yourself moving her around by the collar – let her go 🙂 She is pretty typical, most dogs don’t love being moved by the collar, so lining her up with cookies then taking the collar (without moving her) when she is in position should smooth things out.

When that is worked out, you can add a bit of movement ahead of her as she is moving into target position – think of it as the motion override game, teeter edition – slowly walk forward after you cue her to hop on the teeter, and keep slowly walking forward for a step or two or three after she stops (so you don’t stop as she is stopping, we don’t want to build in physical cues for the stop). Then you can either throw a reward back (or run back and deliver) or release forward for the reward.

>>Decided to try Lift on some of the easier parts of the Live sequences since I had it set up already.>>

Smart! She was a go go go superstar and that is what we want in a young dog.

I think she missed the left cue on rep 2 because of the value of going straight that had just been rewarded – when you called her name, she was almost surprised: “What are you doing over there?!?!” She had some slight delays on that side too as she was learning to ignore the straight line but she did get it! Yay!

The right turn on the other side was no problem on the first rep, and she did well getting back on the Go line on that side. She was not quite as emphatic about it as the reps on your left, but the balance reps will help her sort that out: which is go and which is turn?

You can also try a heads up cue before the turn: her name followed by the left or right cues (and say those cues at a different volume and length so they sound different than the go go go). And, for now, a change in speed: all acceleration for the Go, and a shift into decel for the turn. That will also help support the turn, especially on your left side. And then we will fade out the decel 🙂

Great job here! I have been trying to think of a good way to use the Topple in the dirt barn for the Loretta seminar and I think it would work if you put a dab of cream cheese way up at the top of the it, so there is less dirt interaction. You can also put it inside a treat pouch? There is a good chance that she thinks the dirt is gross, though, so high value treats from your hands or Pet Tutor can work. You can also use a placed bowl with the treat in it (or someone dropping it in) if you need stuff out on a line and she thinks the dirt is gross. I am sure Loretta will have ideas too!

Have fun!
Tracy

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